Being Denied 100% Benefits

[budwad]

He didn't work for the federal government, he worked for a city fire department.

It doesn't say federal government pension. It says government pension. Working for a city qualifies as a government pension.

[rjlocal22]

Taxing Matters,
I have to disagree with your statement about not being cheated. Let's see now. C.O.L.A. Just exactly does it mean? Now everyone knows it's Cost Of Living Allowance or at
Least it's suppose to. Cost of Living allowance to me means: A benefit for the increased cost for health insurance, food, clothing. auto and life insurance, etc. But congress allows medicare to absorb all the increases that I have received in the last 5 years or so. You cannot say I and others are not being cheated. I think I should draw up a cartoon showing
Uncle Sam with three hands. The center one is handed me a 2.8% increase. While the left and right are in my pockets.

[Janke]

Applying the WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) bothers everyone who it is applied to, but it is the law and it would take an act of Congress to change. It would also result in rapid insolvency in the SSA system.

It is not well understood, but the PIA computation gives a higher return on taxes paid to the lower income worker. It was deliberately weighted to give a higher percentage of average lifetime earnings to the lower income workers. It is a form of income redistribution and it is a bit of socialism. But that is what the framers, under Roosevelt, did plan. Over the decades since SSA began, expansions have been made to include Social Security coverage for more and more workers, like farmers and domestic workers. Governments (federal, state, local, schools, fire departments) had been able to opt out of paying Social Security taxes on their employees if they offered a better retirement plan than SSA.

You are not being denied 100% of your benefit since you are not a lifetime low income worker. You are being paid what the law has determined you are eligible for. If you had paid into SSA instead of into your pension plan, you would not be subject to WEP, but there is no doubt that your Social Security benefit would have been much lower than your current combination of your pension and your current Social Security. So it is true that a guy who worked the same 10 years as you, then went to jail for 30 years, instead of working for the fire department like you did, would get a higher Social Security benefit on the same earnings. Yes. But he also would not have the pension that you have. And the guy who had the same earnings as you, while paying into Social Security instead of into the fire department pension system, would end up with less from Social Security than you get from your pension and your Social Security.

Always seems unfair to the person getting the least amount of money.

Highly unlikely that WEP will be repealed or eliminated.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

[rjlocal22]

Janke,
What is your opinion on my post #22 in regards to medicare taken out 100% of my social security raises for the last 5 years or so?

[jk]

Janke,
What is your opinion on my post #22 in regards to medicare taken out 100% of my social security raises for the last 5 years or so?

While you can see it as nothing more than an offset, it doesn’t really matter. You got a raise and Medicare increased their premiums. If you have issue with that you need to address your congressmen.

Btw; medical costs increase right alon with the General cost of living. In some cases it greatly exceeds the calculated cost of living. The fact the cost of Medicare increases shouldn’t be a surprise.

[rjlocal22]

Janke,
So then its not a C.O.L.A. Medicare is only a part of the cost of living. The government should change that name to C.O.M.A. (Cost Of Medicare Allowance).
BTW, I did contact my congressman. He replied a lot about nothing. Its a hot potato he does not want.

[jk]

Janke,
So then its not a C.O.L.A. Medicare is only a part of the cost of living. The government should change that name to C.O.M.A. (Cost Of Medicare Allowance).

Yes, it is a cola but you also pay an effective cola to have Medicare.

I have a hard time believing the Medicare increase matches the SS payment, especially since there are multiple “parts” that are available but not mandatory, there is no set cost increase to every payee.

Additonally, since social security payments vary from payee to payee based on their income, that percentage increase in their payment is not going to equal the same amount of money to everybody. To suggest the increase in Medicare to everybody matches the increase in everybody’s benefits is simply not what is happening. It may work out that way for you, it’s simply coincidental.

[rjlocal22]

Well, I cannot say for sure how the cost of living is determined by social security, but I always referred to the Bureau of Labor for it. The way I see it, if medicare cost's increased by 2.8% or higher, then that increase should be added the cost of living for everything else. Then the real cost of living would be much higher then the 2.8% we got for this year.
Somebody is manipulating thenumbers.

[Mark47n]

Thanks Senior Member and Taxing Matters,
Senior Member I am humbled to see your positon is worse thern mine and both are you are correct in that social security needs to be reformed and backed up for past mistakes. What is happening now is not what President Rooselvelt had offered,

IIworking,
Congress is supposed to represent the people. So just what are they thinking? The people we elected are out of touch. "Trump for 2020" Count me in.

You do realize that Trump and the Republicans are for slashing your benefits, right?

[jk]

You do realize that Trump and the Republicans are for slashing your benefits, right?

I suspect op is a lot like the trump fan interviewed in Orlando the night of trump’s coming out event. The reporter asked the guy how he felt about trump lying. The guy responds (hopefully I’m accurate); you’ll have to point out what he has lied about. I don’t know of any time he lied.


I am am amazed at how many people actually comply with trumps statement awhile back;

Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening," Trump said. "Just stick with us, don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news."

he has the audacity to tell people they can’t believe what they actually see. I can understand claiming reports may be untrue but to tell people to ignore the truth when it’s right in front of them? It worries me.

Well, I cannot say for sure how the cost of living is determined by social security, but I always referred to the Bureau of Labor for it. The way I see it, if medicare cost's increased by 2.8% or higher, then that increase should be added the cost of living for everything else. Then the real cost of living would be much higher then the 2.8% we got for this year.
Somebody is manipulating thenumbers.

The cost price index was 2.2% for 2018 and the generally reported rate of inflation under 2%. Why do you believe your raise should exceed what it is meant to compensate for?