Social Security Quarters

[wazafuzz]

I also retired from a '37 act county. 3 at 50 is great, but the kicker in my county is we get zip for healthcare, unless you count COBRA as a benefit. I picked up a cool Fed gig for the health benefits, but because of some other federal time I worked, I have managed to get SSI too. It is reduced by a lot, under the GPO, but it's still better than nothing and I get to keep my subsidized health insurance when I retire from here next year. Like MaHoTex said, they have introduced bills every year to eliminate the GPO/WEP but it would cost the govt money so I would never count on it happening.

[NickZag]

If you paid into your own pension system and you didn't pay into social security, you would fall under the Windfall Elimination Program (WEP) and the Offset Pension Provision (OPP).

In essence, the government years ago, decided that someone who collects a governmental pension (police, fire, educator, etc), and who did not pay into social security during the time of service, and is now eligible for social security should not collect both in full because it would make them "better" than someone who just gets social security, so your social security benefit gets reduced by about 60%. This only affects those who have enough quarters to get a social security benefit.

There are currently two bills, one in the senate and one in the house, waiting for enough co-sponsors to get the matter heard and possibly repealed. If this affects anyone, i would urge them to contact their senators and congresspersons, to ask for support and join in as a co-sponsor.

First off, congratulations on retiring! I'm a FF also and our association president and Hot Holster is correct. We're an act 37 agency also, but we pay into SS.

The new trend that law makers are using (especially in San Jose with that jackass nazi Reed) is down grading plans so the coverage is cheaper/worse for retirees. Most agencies use an umbrella plan (for example we use Cal-Pers medical) that offer different coverages in them (Blue Cross, Kaiser, etc). If you aren't looked into a coverage rate, they can provide a random horrible plan and set your coverage premiums on them. For example, we made sure to base ours on Kaisers. It's not the best, but its not the worst either. Members who don't want kaiser are still eligible for a different plan, but if the plan is more expensive (like a PPO) you pay for the extra coverage. Agencies like San Jose aren't based off coverage on a specific provider so they looking into finding the cheapest one and base your retirement medical on that which can be horrible. For example, if a Kaiser plan costs $800 and they find Jim and Bobs medical with worse coverage for $200, they'll base it on that.

My advise would be to talk with your current union or association leadership and make sure they have current and retirement healthcare based on a good premium and make sure the MOU reflects that for retirees. I know that doesn't answer your SS quarters question, but I hope that helps.

[AdiosKali]

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