It happened quietly but the bill to end the Govern Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision passed in the House of Representives Tuesday night. Its fate in the Senate is uncertain.
So a bunch of politicians passed and are championing a bill they don’t actually understand but support on face value because it’s a “sounds good/feels good” value. What’s new
This makes no sense. Why after all these years are WEP and GPO no longer relevant? They were created for a reason, and those reasons didn't change. This is nothing short of a money giveaway. But why?
Yep, this is another grift of the rich(er) stealing from the poor(er). The average government pension is $2,690. Don't believe me, here's SSA's own data about it: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/program-explainers/government-pension-offset.html
Anyways. Basically folks with an (average) lifetime annuity of $2,690 ($865 more per month than the SSA average benefit of $1,825) are squawking that "Hey, see that long term low income earner over there that busted their butt for 35 years and paid 100% of their low wage earned income into Social Security and gets a measly $1100 per month!!, Well, I should get treated that same because I worked part time for ten years just to get 40QCs, now give me my FULL benefit because I wanted to be treated equally to a long term low wage earner!!"
But they weren't a "long term low wage earner" with their government job. They had plenty of earned income they didn't pay into SSA for. Why would SSA treat you the same as someone who paid FICA on ALL of their earned income (since in this example, we are talking a long-term low wage earners). By this part of the conversation, most people who are effected by WEP and GPO just stop listening, continuing to cry about how "unfair" it is. This horse has been beaten to death time and time again, but somehow here we are.
I am genuinely surprised
ReplyDeleteSo a bunch of politicians passed and are championing a bill they don’t actually understand but support on face value because it’s a “sounds good/feels good” value. What’s new
ReplyDeleteThis makes no sense. Why after all these years are WEP and GPO no longer relevant? They were created for a reason, and those reasons didn't change. This is nothing short of a money giveaway. But why?
ReplyDeleteYep, this is another grift of the rich(er) stealing from the poor(er). The average government pension is $2,690. Don't believe me, here's SSA's own data about it: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/program-explainers/government-pension-offset.html
DeleteAnyways. Basically folks with an (average) lifetime annuity of $2,690 ($865 more per month than the SSA average benefit of $1,825) are squawking that "Hey, see that long term low income earner over there that busted their butt for 35 years and paid 100% of their low wage earned income into Social Security and gets a measly $1100 per month!!, Well, I should get treated that same because I worked part time for ten years just to get 40QCs, now give me my FULL benefit because I wanted to be treated equally to a long term low wage earner!!"
But they weren't a "long term low wage earner" with their government job. They had plenty of earned income they didn't pay into SSA for. Why would SSA treat you the same as someone who paid FICA on ALL of their earned income (since in this example, we are talking a long-term low wage earners). By this part of the conversation, most people who are effected by WEP and GPO just stop listening, continuing to cry about how "unfair" it is. This horse has been beaten to death time and time again, but somehow here we are.