Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2395786)

Personally, I think the spouse benefit should be eliminated. If someone doesn't pay into the system, they should not get a check. The way the current system works is that a worker can be married 4 or 5 times, and as long as each marriage lasts at least 10 years, all of the ex-spouses are entitled to a check, even if they never worked at all. Some ex-spouses, who never worked, are receiving a check that is higher than a fulltime worker who worked for 30 or 40 years.

Originally Posted by MplsPete (Post 2395825)

OMG, this makes my head spin. I barely can follow what is being said; So, let me pose a question, and if anyone can answer it I will be grateful.

Let's assume I worked for a branch of government for about 15 years, about 40 years ago. FERS, not CSRS. And let's assume I get a small pension from that, say, 500 a month. I will be starting SS soon, past full retirement age. Will the 500 cause a reduction in my SS? When I die, will this affect my spouse?

Originally Posted by Petes (Post 2395847)

It’s explained simply here.
https://youtu.be/liW2W5VasDk
Both were very unjust.

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe (Post 2395766)

Ronald Reagan did two things that I heartily disagree with (with the benefit of hindsight, of course): 1) closed the mental hospitals, and; 2) enacted the WEP and GPO to social security.

Passage of this bill, the Social Security Fairness Act and signature by a president (both Biden and Trump have said they supported the Act) will return fairness to social security by eliminating the WEP and GPO.

Currently, if you earned 40 credits, AND you earned a public pension, they greatly reduced your social security - usually by 70%!! If your benefit was $700, you are getting $145/month simply because you paid into two different systems.

This Act does NOT give people with public pensions double-dipping access to social security UNLESS they also have earned their social security via 40 credits like everyone else.

This Act gives full credit that is due to anyone who worked their full 40 credits - as it should be.

Currently, someone with a government pension, even though they worked 10 years before and 10 years after in the private sector or otherwise worked enough to earn their 40 social security credits, has that social security benefit drastically reduced simply because they also worked in public service. Mostly it's cops, puddle-monkeys, and teachers.

Is it fair if you worked for IBM until you were 35 or 40, and then went and joined a police department for 20 years until you were 55 or 60 to only get what you earned from the police force, but get 70% of your social security benefit taken because you did that?

The other thing it does is protect mostly women. If your spouse worked for a city, county, state or the feds, your spousal benefit from their social security would be normally be negative or zero dollars. You did not get a thing even though the spouse earned their 40 credits.

This Act gives the rightfully earned fair benefit to those who earned it, regardless of whatever other career path they may have chosen over time.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2395783)

When my cousin's husband died, she was eligible for 3 checks in her name, a SS check, a military survivor check, and a civilian Government pension survivor check. While he was alive, there were 4 checks, but only one was in her name, the SS spouse check.

But, the most absurd situation is that military people can retire after 20 years, and then immediately return as a GS-15 or SES civilian employee and earn another full pension. They have an inside track with military preference, and sometimes they return in one day to the same desk.

Originally Posted by Pugchief (Post 2395772)

The better solution is to get rid of pensions for all govt employees (federal, state, municipal, county) and put them in a 401k type plan that the employer matches similarly to the private sector.

As far as SS is concerned, it prob makes sense to gradually move that away from the current ponzi structure toward a privatized system, while still honoring benefits to those who have paid in.

Originally Posted by MSGirl (Post 2395877)

I worked 8 years of my career for state government. Would that qualify me for this additional Social Security? I do receive SS and a small government pension.