@brigitte618 wrote
Seems kind of unfair that a person who never worked a day in his/her life can get a 50% spousal benefit and a 100% survivor benefit based on his/her spouse's record, but a person with a relatively modest government pension ends up not receiving an extra penny.
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It all goes back to that not contributing into the Social Security System while they were working. They didn't contribute AND neither did their employer (some government entity).
My neighbor worked for 20+ years with a local school system (long enough to get his full government based pension). At the same time he had a business - licensed plumber - to pull in more income but to also work those 30 years within the SS system. He did his self-employed job part time while he was working for the school system and then when he retired from there he worked full-time in his plumbing business. Now the gets both - fully - his government pension and his full SS benefit + the DRC since he waited until 70 to draw his SS Retirement. Now that's a lot of working!
I've made the suggestion (half joking) to others involved with the WEP and are griping about the unfairness - that they only have to pay their contributions (and the matched ones that their government employer didn't pay) and maybe the formula could be adjusted to count their government wages during all those year.
Nobody agreed.
Sorry I missed the other part of the picture when I gave you my reply - Didn't even think about the GPO part of the equation. It is a complicated program unless you fit the mold of the masses. Sorry it didn't work out.
Yea, @fffred is good.
It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna