I just watched the vote live. This is huge. Now for the Senate. With this much bipartisan support, I think we have a good chance of this getting done.

Today, in a 327-75 vote, the House passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), legislation that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)

Interesting..

I don't know what that means.

Wow!!!! If you got a gov pension and didnt pay into SS during your service years but had another job that did pay into SS your SS gets discounted. If you try to claim your spouse's SS you get hit also. It would be great if it actually happens. It has been talked about for years.

Soooooo.....you're saying that these people are entitled to MORE than what they actually contributed?

If it passes completely and gets signed it means I will get full SS benefits instead of it being reduced by about 75%. I remember in a TMRS retirement seminar when the SS guy started talking about WEP and GPO and put the chart up on how much it would reduce those pending retirees SS. Most had worked in other careers long enough to qualify for SS. Some much longer than they paid into a govt pension. The room was silent, but you could hear over 100 pencils and pens get slammed on tables. The majority had no idea that WEP and GPO even existed until that moment.

Lets say with my lifetime earnings where I paid SS taxes I am entitled to $1000 a month SS, but because I have a pension it gets knocked down to $500 a month. I would be penalized because I have a gov pension. I would be entitled to the same SS benefits as anyone else who contributed the same amount of money for the same amount of years if this passes. I hope this isn't confusing, it just eliminates the penalty.

I thought it was because they didn’t pay in to SS all those years.

Yup, teachers get the same deal. Retirment from Gov. and work during summer to get SS. Called double dipping. Non-Gov workers don't get it.

I guess that is my question; Is the payment calculated on JUST what was contributed and not age?
Fair enough I guess, but you shouldn't be able to teach your whole life, retire, then come back as a janitor for a semester and collect full SS.

I was watching. It’s a big deal for all those who paid into SS and get only a portion because of a pension. Most don’t even realize the penalty until is too late.

Windfall elimination provision.

A summertime job paying in to SS is hardly a career's worth of contributions. I guess my point is, they should not be equal payments.

My SS statement says is I should get 1200 a month at 62. I would actually get only 400-500.

Teacher pension ain’t that great. Say someone teaches 20 years, has a 2.3 percent multiplier. That’s 43 percent of 70k a year. That’s 30k a year. Plus get penalized/hosed if you contributed to SS.

There is a minimum salary every year to qualify. I think it’s around 30k this year.

If a teacher could make $30k a year working a summertime job, I have a feeling there would be less teachers.

It’s not really the summertime job. It’s usually a previous career or later career where they met the substantial earnings. Really don’t matter how they qualified for it.

That is my point. They can work 10 years contributing to SS, and draw the same $$ as someone who has contributed 35 years?

No. SS goes by years and earnings. 35 years pays more than 10

My wife earned 6 figures in the private sector for 15 plus years and now works for the a city and doesn’t pay into ss anymore. What’s any of this mean for her?

that makes more sense. Thank you

If your wife gets a SS statement and it says, hypothetically 2500 a month in SS. If she plans on taking a pension from the city. Cut that 2500 in half, right now. If it passes Senate she will get full 2500 and a pension she earned.

That would make sense if the SS amount is 3.5 times more for the person who paid in for 35 years vs. 10 years. Is that how it works?

No. SS has bend points

That she will get SS since she qualified for it before going to work for a municipality .

Would educators get spousal survivor benefits if their spouse dies?