People who have jobs that do/did not pay into social security-retirement is affected adversely? Single? How can we live? (beach, relocating)

[texdav]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

Leaving aside any personal political ideas, I would think that if you paid the SS tax for those NYS years, then they would count. Are they counted on your statement the SSA just sent out? If so, then I would bet that they count towards your SS benefits. The SSA should count any employment for which you and your employer paid the SS tax. What really counts is what the SSA says. It might be worth it to set up an appointment with SSA to find out exactly what counts and what does not.

For me, I spent a few years working for the state of CA and for the colleges I attended as a tutor and lab assistant. While the monetary amount was peanuts, none of that time counts. I didn't grasp that they didn't take SS tax from my wages and probably didn't care. But my time as a lab assistant for a doctor does count. I guess that the state and local govts either assumed that each employee would stay for a career and have the local govt pension system or they just didn't want to pay their part of the SS tax and opted out of it. It has created a lot of problems for people who moved in and out of govt service or changed the govts they worked for and so did not get the full career pension. One of the big reasons I stayed was for the pension benefits. I could have been paid a lot more but I might also have had less steady employment and lost the pensions I worked for somewhere else.

No it stems from a supreme court rulign that sate and loacl governamnt employees can not be forced to pay social secirty. Long ago were i live teh employees voted has to whether to joi the SS system. The police did and the fire dept didn't.The fire dept altho at a lower overall rate still retires at a higher income than the police;so it really depends on your retirement system.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by janetvj

You cannot make a blanket statement about pensions for goverment workers. Each individual state and local sub-division has it's own retirement and pension system, and benefits vary considerably for retirees of those employers. As a retiree from the state of MD, my pension is somewhere around 40% of the average of my highest 3 years of earnings over my 32 year career. And, since I paid into social security my entire working life (and that includes an additional 3 or 4 years prior to my state employment, as well as the 32 years there) I will also be eligible for that. But in order to have that pension, I made significantly less than I would have in a comparable job in many of the surrounding states, local governments, and the federal government. In effect, my earnings were deferred and paid into the pension plan. As a retiree, I am now eligible to withdraw those earnings. When I'm 62, I will start withdrawing S.S.

I'm sure there are other states where the pension is much more generous. And I suspect there are others where it is less so.

We are in 100% agreement and I either did not make my point clear or you didn't pick it up. You paid into SS and DC employees didn't. There pension is larger as a result.

[Wisteria]

Tesaje:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisteria
I noticed that Nancy was surprised to see that many other government agencies do NOT pay into Social Security -- that's one way I got in trouble -- I, too, used to work for New York State and it paid into both. However....and I am wondering if there is legal recourse -- NYS has said that the years I put in there do NOT count because...and this seems crazy to me (I'd have to try to dig up the letter they sent me) I did not tell them about my change of address when I moved out of state! One would think it would stay on the books regardless. So, according to them, I have lost everything I ever put into it! Somehow that does not seem right.

Tesaje:
Leaving aside any personal political ideas, I would think that if you paid the SS tax for those NYS years, then they would count. Are they counted on your statement the SSA just sent out? If so, then I would bet that they count towards your SS benefits. The SSA should count any employment for which you and your employer paid the SS tax. What really counts is what the SSA says. It might be worth it to set up an appointment with SSA to find out exactly what counts and what does not.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my post. According to NYS, I am not eligible for the PENSION MONEY, however, the S.S. does show up in the years I worked there. That was one of the few government agencies that paid into both a pension fund and S.S. The County I work for currently, also, pays into both S.S. and a pension fund. I just don't understand how the pension fund in NYS can be negated by merely not having a forwarding address -- doesn't make sense to me.

[janetvj]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my post. According to NYS, I am not eligible for the PENSION MONEY, however, the S.S. does show up in the years I worked there. That was one of the few government agencies that paid into both a pension fund and S.S. The County I work for currently, also, pays into both S.S. and a pension fund. I just don't understand how the pension fund in NYS can be negated by merely not having a forwarding address -- doesn't make sense to me.

If you paid into the pension, then whatever you paid into it is yours. Check with New York's unclaimed property section. Even if for some reason you aren't entitled to the pension, you should be able to have your contributions refunded to you. Here is the link:

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/

[RichCapeCod]

Originally Posted by GloridaBG

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your post. Re your statement:



Do you specifically need to notify SS that you were in the service, or do they somehow already have this info? Also, are you saying that if your projected SS amount will be $1,500 a month and you were in the service for 2 years, SS will increase that amount by $2,400 monthly
($300 X 8 quarters)? Any info you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks,
Glorida

Glorida, I'm not at my normal computer or I'd send you the SS link to your question. What the regulation does is, it increases the calculated amount of your pay by $300 per quarter worked. So, if you put in three quarters within a year in the service, whatever you earned would have $900 added to the amount for determination of "significant earnings." Every year you get your SS info there is a list somewhere on the paper as to what the significant earnings are for each year. When I was in service it was $1,200 dollars per year. One year (first one in service) I earned only 1,150 dollars. That additional money I'm credited with gave me another year of substantial earnings.

Hope I've been clear on this. The actual info is somewhere on the SS web site.

Rich

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by janetvj

If you paid into the pension, then whatever you paid into it is yours. Check with New York's unclaimed property section. Even if for some reason you aren't entitled to the pension, you should be able to have your contributions refunded to you. Here is the link:

New York State Comptroller

I agree. If you left no forwarding address, then it probably went into a dead file but you should be able to get it again in the unclaimed property. You might not have been there long enuf to qualify for the pension, but your contributions should be refunded to you.

[GloridaBG]

Thank you, Rich, for your reply. I found the Social Security website/link so that I can forward to the appropriate people it may help. Your info has been much appreciated.

Glorida

[nancy thereader]

noticed that Nancy was surprised to see that many other government agencies do NOT pay into Social Security -- that's one way I got in trouble -- I, too, used to work for New York State and it paid into both. However....and I am wondering if there is legal recourse -- NYS has said that the years I put in there do NOT count because...and this seems crazy to me (I'd have to try to dig up the letter they sent me) I did not tell them about my change of address when I moved out of state! One would think it would stay on the books regardless. So, according to them, I have lost everything I ever put into it! Somehow that does not seem right.

It doesn't seem right to me , either. If you paid into the pension fund, you should be able to collect on it. All those years should not be negated.
There must be an office in Albany that handles these probably common problems.

[akck]

Originally Posted by Teak

But you get State of Alaska retirement benefits, right? Are they better than SS? Probably.

The State of Alaska has a four tiered system with the main difference being a defined benefit pension for tiers I-III and a defined contribution pension for tier IV. In addition, there is a supplemental benefits system (SBS), a replacement for SS, and a retiree group medical benefit.

The main differences between tiers I-III are retirement age, when you become vested in the benefits and number of high years used to define the benefit. SBS can be taken as an annuity, taken as a lump sum or rolled into an IRA. It's not unusual for someone with 30 years in to be paid more in retirement compared to net pay.

So, short answer, yes the Alaska Retirement benefits are better than SS for tiers I-III and probably better for tier IV.

[akck]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my post. According to NYS, I am not eligible for the PENSION MONEY, however, the S.S. does show up in the years I worked there. That was one of the few government agencies that paid into both a pension fund and S.S. The County I work for currently, also, pays into both S.S. and a pension fund. I just don't understand how the pension fund in NYS can be negated by merely not having a forwarding address -- doesn't make sense to me.

That doesn't sound right. I know for Alaska, they put out a newsletter that has a section searching for lost members. The only things I can think of are that you weren't vested and took a payout when you left or since they couldn't find you they sent your portion to unclaimed property. I don't see the latter unless it's three years past your retirement age with them.