[Nell57]

WEP/GPO was only enacted in 15 states. Public employees in these states will now have the same federal benefits as the other 35 states.
Thats Fairness.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Nell57

WEP/GPO was only enacted in 15 states. Public employees in these states will now have the same federal benefits as the other 35 states.
Thats Fairness.

WEP/GPO affects employees in ALL states. If anything, only 15 states had employees paying into state pension plans and NOT paying SS tax.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Nell57

WEP/GPO was only enacted in 15 states. Public employees in these states will now have the same federal benefits as the other 35 states.
Thats Fairness.

To clarify, the 15 states where the law was reacted only applied to non-Federal employees. But the WEP and GPO restrictions always applied to retired Federal employees in every state. So, if you are a retired Federal employee, you were subjected to the SS reductions mandated by the old law. The new law will affect Federal retirees in every state.

[Bilyclub]

Biden still hasn’t signed it yet. He has 10 non-Sunday days from the bill passage to sign it or it dies.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

Biden still hasn’t signed it yet. He has 10 non-Sunday days from the bill passage to sign it or it dies.

Correct, but I don't think the bill has been sent to him yet. The 10 days start when he receives the bill for signature.

[Nell57]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

WEP/GPO affects employees in ALL states. If anything, only 15 states had employees paying into state pension plans and NOT paying SS tax.

My husband paid the maximum into SS for 30 years.
As his widow, who worked as a teacher 33 years , I received nothing the last eight years.
I will now get widow benefits.
The same benefit as retired teachers in the other 35 states have received all along.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Nell57

My husband paid the maximum into SS for 30 years.
As his widow, who worked as a teacher 33 years , I received nothing the last eight years.
I will now get widow benefits.
The same benefit as retired teachers in the other 35 states have received all along.

The same benefit as EVERYONE who paid SS during their entire career have received all along.

It has nothing to do with which state you were in, if you did not pay SS during the time you earned a pension then you are affected by WEP and GPO.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

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.

Do they also pay the SS and Medicare Taxes the entire time they pay I to the other system?

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by Romad

Missing in this entire thread was who avoided paying social security taxes. It wasn’t the employee’s decision. They don’t get asked if they want to pay the taxes or not. It was the employer. Those state governments that avoided paying the taxes.

I was hoping the legislation would end any exemptions and every employer is required to pay into the system. One can pretend that employees pay half, but the reality is that the employer pays all of the FICA taxes.

I don't get asked either, but I pay my 6.5% as required by law, just like every other tax.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

Do they also pay the SS and Medicare Taxes the entire time they pay I to the other system?

GPO applies to the spouse benefit, and in many cases, reduces it to zero. There are millions of spouses, ex-spouses, widows, and widowers who never paid anything into the SS system, but they receive a SS check every month for life.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

But with SS, we normals get hit for 15% of our income for a ponzi scheme that, by law, excuses anyone making over $110K from paying into.

The people making over the cutoff still pay up to the limit, then the tax stops. The max anyone can earn also stops. This is considered fair, not taxing someone more due to not giving them more of what the tax is taken to pay for.
The limits are also far higher than $110,000, it changes most very year.
2024: $168,600
2025: $176,100

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

GPO applies to the spouse benefit, and in many cases, reduces it to zero. There are millions of spouses, ex-spouses, widows, and widowers who never paid anything into the SS system, but they receive a SS check every month for life.

So the pensioner did not pay and people will still get money as if he/she did?
Not a bad deal, a nice 6.5% effective pay increase and still benefits.
Does the pensioner also get SS money, or only the spouse of the non-paying pensioner?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

So the pensioner did not pay and people will still get money as if he/she did?
Not a bad deal, a nice 6.5% effective pay increase and still benefits.
Does the pensioner also get SS money, or only the spouse of the non-paying pensioner?

I don't understand your post. If a worker receives $2,000 per month in SS income, his/her spouse receives $1,000 per month, and when the worker dies, the spouse receives $2,000 per month. The spouse doesn't need to contribute anything into the SS system to be eligible for this benefit.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I only want to comment on one small part of this post - "the other thing it does is protect mostly WOMEN". To me that is a VERY GOOD thing because women typically earn only 70% of what a man does for the SAME job.

That's been debunked many times.over, quite a while ago. But it is such a good sound note it keeps being told.
Just to put it to a real world logic test, we see it fails.
A CEO could save a lot of money and greatly boost profits by hiring all or mostly women. Same work, lower pay, right. But not a single company ever did it. That is because it is simply not true women get paid less than men for the same work.

The gender pay gap is often exaggerated or misrepresented, and there are many factors that contribute to it:
Factors that are not considered
The gender pay gap is often calculated by comparing the total salaries of men and women, without accounting for other important factors:
Occupation: Men and women are often employed in different types of jobs, which can contribute to the pay gap. Women choose flexible schedules over higher pay.
Hours worked: Men often work more hours than women, which can contribute to the pay gap.
Seniority: Women are less likely to occupy senior positions, which can contribute to lower pay.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

That's been debunked many times.over, quite a while ago. But it is such a good sound note it keeps being told.
Just to put it to a real world logic test, we see it fails.
A CEO could save a lot of money and greatly boost profits by hiring all or mostly women. Same work, lower pay, right. But not a single company ever did it. That is because it is simply not true women get paid less than men for the same work.

The gender pay gap is often exaggerated or misrepresented, and there are many factors that contribute to it:
Factors that are not considered
The gender pay gap is often calculated by comparing the total salaries of men and women, without accounting for other important factors:
Occupation: Men and women are often employed in different types of jobs, which can contribute to the pay gap. Women choose flexible schedules over higher pay.
Hours worked: Men often work more hours than women, which can contribute to the pay gap.
Seniority: Women are less likely to occupy senior positions, which can contribute to lower pay.

I totally agree. I would also add that women are still defined as a "socially and economically disadvantaged class" in the Federal Affirmative Action law and, as such, they are entitled to special treatment when applying for jobs and Government contracts. I have never heard of a single prominent woman in business or Government propose any change to this law.