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Re: Is your retirement check worth it?
Posted by Retired Teacher, The First on 7/20/08
Yes! Yes! Yes! But...
I worked in a state where I paid SS each and every month and
the state took out a percentage of my income from my salary
for retirement for the State Employees' Retirement Fund. For
the first years I had to pay income tax on the amount taken
out. That part was "fixed" and my retirement money for most
of my career was not taxed. I can't believe my state and it's
mostly incompetent legislators also decided that the
retirement pensions when drawn out by retirees would not be
taxed by the state, either. Lucky the state legislators are
part of the same state retirement system, I guess.
I get both SS and state retirement, as does my husband. We
have a comfortable, but not lavish, retirement. We also have
other retirement assets. Our state system also does COLAs, or
"thirteenth checks". My husband, who has been retired fewer
years than I, takes his as a "thirteenth check " in Dec. I
take mine in monthly increments, which now is about $500.00
extra each month, but it increases each year. I know retirees
who have been retired a few years longer than I, who get 5
figure "thirteenth checks".
Whether or not state employees paid into SS was decided long
ago, from what I understand. The 16 or 17(not sure) state
legislatures(?) and some individual districts within some
states who chose not to be part of the SS System made a costly
(for their teachers and other state employees) mistake, but
most legislators probably did not foresee future events and
are probably dead by now.
The part I, as an always employed SS paying spouse, always had
a problem with was that a spouse that had never worked outside
the home and had never paid a dime into SS would automatically
receive benefits of 1/2 what the husband/wife was eligible
for. That tells you that this policy was set a long time ago,
when relatively few women were part of the work force.
This problem, my theory, is that this is getting more
attention now because Baby Boomers by the millions are nearing
retirement age and they realize that in certain states(their
states) there will be no SS checks coming, because they did
not pay into the system. The decision was not made by them,
either.
Maybe these states can correct this mistake, which will be
helpful at least for younger workers, if they think being part
of the SS System is a good idea. If I lived in one of these
states I would try to get changes made.
I thought ML's explanations were very accurate, considering
the info she was given to work with. As ML said, the SS Admin
is the place to go for specific situations and the final word.
On 7/18/08, aggie'swife wrote:
> Do to the GPO/WEP legislation, is your retirement check
> worth the potential loss of your spouse's social security check?
>
> If you had it to do over again, would you still retire as a
> teacher, or would you have taken the money out, invested it
> in something else, and taken social security?
>
> Thanks for any and all comments.
Posts on this thread, including this one
- Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/18/08, by aggie'swife.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/18/08, by artaz.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/18/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/18/08, by ML to artaz.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/19/08, by Babs.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/19/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/19/08, by mrso.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/19/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/20/08, by hg.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/20/08, by hg.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/20/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/20/08, by Retired Teacher, The First.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it? RT1, 7/20/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/20/08, by Sunset/D.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it? RT1, 7/20/08, by hg.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/21/08, by Cal-Kid.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/21/08, by ML.
- Re: Is your retirement check worth it?, 7/22/08, by aggie'swife.
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