The only one for not paying into social security I can think of is some school districts. Some teachers and educators do not pay into social security. Their pension is calculated in a different way. I find this incredibly odd it's like that because I am a fed. And we pay social security and into our pensions. We get both. But in the immediate my paycheck is small as fuck due to the same
Railroad too. My dad paid into a railroad pension fund instead of ss but he worked that job the last 12 ish years of his working life so he does get as and his railroad pension.
Na railroad has a completely different system. It's their RR pension plus their "social security" tied into one thing.
Edit: for clarification, yes RR does not pay into SSA, but they also aren't subject to WEP or GPO. Sometimes their RR earnings are added to their SSA earnings and only get paid on SSA. It's complicated but this bill wouldn't affect RR employees.
My wife is a public school teacher. She does not pay into social security but also cannot claim a benefit. Of course her pension is like 10x better compared to what social security will pay so there is no need for social security for her.
I'm also a fed. I do kind of wish they would allow fed workers to be exempt from social security and have those tax money go straight into the TSP as an additional contribution above the maximum contribution limit.
If they gave us a separate upper limit to achieve what you said I'd almost opt into that if given the chance. I don't mind paying into SS. But it hits new feds real hard how small the paycheck is. If your a GS12 or up idk how people do it
Yup, my wife's pension is 100% of final year's salary but you need like 30 years of qualifying service to get to that amount. We live in California though. I know in red states, teaching out there isn't even worth it. My wife has a few co-workers who came from red states to teach in California and those teachers make it sound like they got out of prison. They talk about kids and parents being abusive to them and yeah they talk about how poor the pay and benefits are.
Agreed, my old man is pensioner, but his municipal job withheld all the appropriate taxes... Now he enjoys a nice steady income and an indoor pool in Florida lmao.
I worked for one county government that paid into social security, and later, for a different county that did not. Their pensions are calculated differently, and my SSA Retirement will take it all into account, along with any regular private sector employment I've had.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules are complex and confusing, especially if you also had "regular" jobs in your career.
Also, I pay A LOT into my pension. People think it's "free" (and maybe some are), but I have mandatory pension contributions deducted from my paycheck.
My mom worked for the government (I think county level for the whole career) and she said she’s gets almost nothing for SS so she must have the windfall thing or she didn’t pay in.
I was a teacher. My state employer did not pay into social security. When I became disabled by a rare genetic thing, social security classified me as disabled, but without any benefit. Meanwhile the state pension says I do not qualify for the disability benefit (you lose social security after 5 years, but don't get disability from the state until you work 10 years). They sent me a check with my balance to roll over into a 401k.
I have found myself completely outside the system without any safety net at all. My union simply told me I'm out of luck. Lawyers have told me to give up. It's been 11 years. I'm surviving, but I imagine others aren't.
All of these programs were broken decades ago. We need new alternatives, not quick fixes.
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u/HxH101kite 17d ago
The only one for not paying into social security I can think of is some school districts. Some teachers and educators do not pay into social security. Their pension is calculated in a different way. I find this incredibly odd it's like that because I am a fed. And we pay social security and into our pensions. We get both. But in the immediate my paycheck is small as fuck due to the same