The things they do...

[josabry]

So apparently when teachers retire, they cut our social security benefits.  Don't ask me why, because it isn't like teachers make enough money that we can sock away thousands and thousands in 403b s and stuff and it isn't like the school systems match what  we put in like other corporations do.  But this is happening.  And I think it's unfair.

If

Comments

[black_op]

Done.

Re: Two things...

[pneumatik]

I read up on the GPO and WEP on the NEA website, and yeah, it's weird. I don't want WEP and GPO completely repealed, because there are legitimate double-dipping issues. OTOH, it sounds like people are earning two sets of legitimate benefits, one SS and the other a government pension, but it's counting against them. I suspect there's something I'm missing here. And I'm just too lazy to look it up.

Re: Two things...

[pneumatik]

Yeah, that's what I was missing. Kudos to the LA Times for quality reporting to explain what's going on. I still don't know if WEP takes too much or too little money away from the people it affects, though my suspicion is that the staffers who wrote the law got help from people who actually did their homework, and it's about as fair as it can be.

[elengul]

Done.

gotta add my 1/2 cent in here...

[hjude44]

Josabry's dad here. I started this post with an email to her. The NEA is working to repeal the GPO/WEP law for this reason alone: Let me use myself as an example - I taught in the public sector for some 38 years and paid into the public pension fund I now get. I also, like MOST teachers worked part time for most of those years and PAID INTO Social Security in ALL those jobs. Now at retirement age, I get only 40% of what I should get [read: based on what I paid in]. This is not double dipping folks. Many, many people pay into pensions AND social security and reap FULL bennies from BOTH. Why the hell can't I????

Re: gotta add my 1/2 cent in here...

[josabry]

yeah. What he said. If I put in for my pension and put in for social security, I should get it back out. My dad, and a bunch of other teachers, are getting screwed. I will probably get screwed because I'm putting into social security and it just wont be there in thirty years, but that's not the issue. The whole thing is rediculous.

Re: gotta add my 1/2 cent in here...

[pneumatik]

Really, the solution is for everyone to pay into social security, period. The problem arises because some state and local government jobs don't contribute to social security. If they did, this problem wouldn't exist.

The other straightforward answer is to just count all income, regardless of whether or not it involved paying into social security, when determining a person's social security payout. The current system has the bad effect of directly reducing what people get out of social security, which probably makes people feel like hjude44 does - like the government is stealing your social security money.

I suppose the other problem with the social security system is that people who make less during their lives get more of a pay-out. Well, maybe it's not a 'problem', but it really complicates things. Getting out of social security what you put in is tough when the systems isn't designed only to force people to save, it's also a wealth redistribution.

back at you...

[hjude44]

Back again and need to say a couple of things.... agree with whoever said that the 40% rule only applies to the first $500-600. I'm in a different situation tho'.... my monthly total from SS is a whopping $120. This is 40% of the $300 I should be receiving - based on my 40+ years of contributing to it. Doesn't sound like much to some people I know, but take that $180 times 12 months times 10+ years [I hope] and I'm getting $21,600 less than I should be. And living on a crappy teacher pension, ends are very far apart some months and they just don't meet one another sometimes.