Congress approves changes to Social Security for some public sector workers

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/congress-approves-changes-to-social-security-for-some-public-sector-workers/ar-AA1wgeag

Not sure if this affects me.

Here’s what I don’t understand and don’t see clearly addressed in any of the tabloid msm:

Did these new beneficiaries pay into the system via FICA taxes?

If so, why were they not receiving benefits before?

If not, why are they going to receive them now?

This is supposed to be an insurance program. To get benefits, you have to pay premiums. Otherwise, it’s taxpayer funded welfare — and in an already rapidly self bankrupting program, I might add.

This should help to expedite the Trust Fund running out of money…

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As I understand it, they did. But, if they were receiving a pension from a governmental unit that exceeded their earned s/s, they did not receive s/s or had some s/s offset by the pension. I think they will still have to meet the 40-quarter contribution criteria before qualifying for s/s.

I meet the 40 credit requirement, but from old jobs. I haven’t paid into SS since 2000.

My benefit will be lower regardless, which is fine bc I have a pension.

The current minimum benefit is $50/month, and increases about $50/month for every year you paid in over 11 years. If your calcs exceed the minimum, that’s what you get.

It depends upon the state. My husband had a pension for being the Director of the New York City Crime Lab,which ended when he died, but also had the maximum amounted of social security deducted from his salary. So he received social security based on all the contributions he made during the fifty years he worked. The same is true for teachers, firemen, etc in New York.

However, in Connecticut teachers who have a pension do not have any money for social security deducted from their paychecks. They only receive social security income based on what they contributed from other jobs. In addition if a person made less than a minimum amount working from other jobs they will get that minimum amount anyway.

So in reality based on what was deducted from
A teacher’s paycheck the social security system is much more advantageous to a teacher in Connecticut than a teacher in New York who had social security deducted from his teaching paychecks

That’s basically my situation. I don’t teach, but I’m in the California Teachers Retirement System.