Jimster
TUG Member
Dagger1 said: "You are in essence saying that folks who had two (or more) careers, one in which SS payments were made, one where payments were made into a public pension, should receive two fully vested retirement funds and therefore two full payouts. But that the person who had two (or more) careers both of which paid into SS, should only get one fully vested retirement fund (SS), much less than the first person. The person who had two separate jobs/careers and paid into SS for both of them only gets one SS check, not two checks (one SS, one pension) like the government worker who gets payouts from both retirement plans.
Everyone who paid into SS should get their promised benefit."
What I am saying is if you decided to get a pension and became vested, you should get that pension. If you paid into SS, you should get the appropriate amount of money consistent with the number of quarters paid in. They should not get less because they worked for a pension too. Yes, that would mean two checks but it also means that both checks came from their contributions. As it stands now, a person who has a vested public pension, is penalized for his service and foresight. Yes, that probably saves the government money but at the expense of the retiree. Incidently, prior to the Windfall Exclusion Act, it was perfectly acceptable to collect a full pension and your full SS benefit. While I am hurt, the military and public workers are probably hurt more.
Furthermore, it is not a case of getting something you didn't pay for or didn't deserve. The retiree played by the rules, did what was required including paying into the systems. He/she just doesn't get full benefits.
Everyone who paid into SS should get their promised benefit."
What I am saying is if you decided to get a pension and became vested, you should get that pension. If you paid into SS, you should get the appropriate amount of money consistent with the number of quarters paid in. They should not get less because they worked for a pension too. Yes, that would mean two checks but it also means that both checks came from their contributions. As it stands now, a person who has a vested public pension, is penalized for his service and foresight. Yes, that probably saves the government money but at the expense of the retiree. Incidently, prior to the Windfall Exclusion Act, it was perfectly acceptable to collect a full pension and your full SS benefit. While I am hurt, the military and public workers are probably hurt more.
Furthermore, it is not a case of getting something you didn't pay for or didn't deserve. The retiree played by the rules, did what was required including paying into the systems. He/she just doesn't get full benefits.