After 25yrs, I returned to schooI, became a nurse, left private industry and a higher salary to work as a Public Health Nurse with underserved and minority communites only to find out that I was going to be penalized. As a single person, I will have to work forever to cover my house and living expenses due to this law.
I am retired Federal Gov't with 30 years. Husband thought he was in a partnership for 20 years until he was terminated. Now he's diagnosed with dementia at age 60. Future not very bright on my $1500.00 per month. His 40 years of work should provide me with some sort of survivor's benefit. Passing this bill would save a lot of people from joining the ranks of those losing thier homes and going hungry in their senior years.
Year after year WEP & GPO repeals have failed. Why is it that no one is mounting a constitutional challenge to the WEP and GPO? There has only been one such constitutional challenge, and that it district court: Rudykoff vs. Apfel (1999) which was denied on two bases: 1) that the WEP met the intention of that law--there is no way that in today's economy, that my teacher's pension and Social Secuirity check, should I receive my full, unadulterated (by the WEP) social security and my teacher's pension) could be considered a windfall. The second basis on which the challenge was denied was that social welfare law (re precedence) does not have to meet the same standards as other law. Not right!!!
Please - I have worked hard to provide my family with a decent living and college educations. Now that I am about to retire - I seriously need the Social Security income that I have contributed into. Again - is my country going to cheat me out of what they promised to do? Please repeal the Windfall as my retirement income certainly cannot be considered anything but low income. Is this how we treat our countries hard working people. And yes, I am also a disabled veteran.
Diane Feinstein says we can't afford to repeal WEP and GPO and pay seniors their EARNED Social Security benefits. She said it will cost 10 billion per year for 10 years. But how can we not afford to pay Americans those EARNED benefits when we are now spending 1 Trillion per year to send 250,000 troops to 74 countries? This government is out of hand!
In 2010 I sent letters to Sen. Scott Brown, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Barney Frank, who all failed to respond. Another example of how WE are represented on the issue of repeal of WEP.
I was a stay at home Mom for 15 years before I began teaching school Now I will not be able to draw from my spouse's social security because I chose to stay at home and raise our children. I will have 20 years when I finish teaching, my pension will be less than 2000 month. I am being penalized for being married and staying home raising our children.
Please, please, AT LEAST, AT LEAST, repeal WEP. Why should the "living" who are "still alive' be penalized? Those of us that are alive and STILL paying Social Security after govt employment are being robbed. There really is no moral way to justify this.
Again, please at the very least, please repeal WEP for those of us living who have no choice in opting out of social security AFTER govt. employment.
Public servants aren't the highest paid people to begin with, but we weigh the benefits and outcome over the income we make; to take away part of our retirement income (after we've paid for it) is insensitive,sinful and a total disregard for those of us who put our lives and livelihood on the line
I would love to see an example of an analogous penalty levied private sector investments. Another instance where the 1% decide what's good for the 99% regardless of fairness of application.
This is discriminatory legislation. Women who did not work get their spouse's social security. Because I worked, I do not get that benefit. Why should I have worked in public service for all of those years in a low paying job? The "satisfaction" of having helped others does nothing for my financial situation now.,
I have written a comment on this petition page however Bill
HR235 is not the current bill in Congress concerning this Social Security discrimination
issue. The current bills in the 112th Congress are HR1332
and S2010. Please re-write your politicians. I hope all of our Congressional politicians
vote to repeal the GPO & WEP
Provisions
Not a fair penalty, I have a Government Pension, Wife paid into S/S allnher life, unfortunaly passing away before retiring. Her S/S just disappeared due to this law, and I end upp struggling after my retirement.
I have had two careers. The first earning my 40 units + in S.S.in the private sector. The second I have earned a pension through a police department. I should be able to collect my full S.S. pension if for no other reason but because I have earned it.
It's a giant ripoff. I worked in the private sector before working for the Federal Government. When I retired I again worked in the private sector. Yet they refuse to pay me the full boat. Tell me, why should I sponsor others by paying additional and continuing FICA taxes if I won't receive the full benefits of continuing tax payments.
My wife was a stay at home mother for much of her life. She then began working in the public sector as a teacher and paid into SS. She later moved to Texas and began paying into the TRS. She is now vested in the TRS but would draw less than SS than her TRS pension. She cannot take her contributions out of TRS w/o the WEP kicking in even if she wanted to just draw Spousal Spt for SS.
There are only 14 states left in the country where WEP and GPO have not been repealed. Justice demands that these 14 states join with the others in receiving the full social security benefits we earned by our labor and have a right to. It's time Congress stops stealing from the citizens of this country!
repealing the ss windfall will give us siniors more money for mour medical expenses that cola can not do and pay for the high prices of food and fuel and elect some of us even moved out of the us to cheaper countrys like cebu in the phillipines
repealing the ss windfall will give us siniors more money for mour medical expenses that cola can not do and pay for the high prices of food and fuel and elect some of us even moved out of the us to cheaper countrys like cebu in the phillipines
I have been writting my Senators and Representatives
since 1995 concerning the
Social Security Offsets,
WEP & GPO. To date, I get a RUBBER stamped response
letter that they support the
Social Security Fairness Act
bills in Congress but nothing gets done. These bills sit in Congress and stagnate. Does anyone know if a Class Action Law suit can be instituted against the Federal Government for
discrimination. This current
Social Security Act is one of
the BIGGEST discriminatory
laws allowed by our politicians
When I divorced my husband in 1984, I did not try to take half of future military retirement, but instead my attorney told me I would be able to draw one half of his social security because we had been married over the 10 year period. I had never heard anything about this so called double dipping until just a few years ago from a teacher who was very involved in school policies. I didn't believe her and looked it up for myself. One source of comfort for all of the years since my divorce were lost in an instant. I worked wile I taught school and paid into social security. I even left teaching for quite a few years and paid into social security. I would never have left teaching if I had been aware of this law. Of course, the government doesn't want to talk about it because people will not become teachers. It is not double dipping. I don't know why it isn't unconstitutional. If I can't draw neither should the spouses be able to claim social security from their husbands.
Very Unfair , and discrimitory. if i worked in the privite sector i would be able to get both. the goverment says we didn't pay into it while working in the public sector . but how about what we put in while in the privite sector . and if our spouse is deceased were not allowed dependent pension , our spouse put into the system and they didn't have goverment pensions . people are coming into our country illegally and getting all kinds of benefits that they should not have . and this is what we get for being born here and putting our money in ! the government should give us what we or our spouse's put in with interest if this is the case . if we the people that have gov. pensions would have known this we would have put the contrbutions inboth pensions. funny many of the state workers like IRS auditors had this opportunity to do so but the rest of us knew not of this. what another sham by our gov.
Very Unfair , and discrimitory. if i worked in the privite sector i would be able to get both. the goverment says we didn't pay into it while working in the public sector . but how about what we put in while in the privite sector . and if our spouse is deceased were not allowed dependent pension , our spouse put into the system and they didn't have goverment pensions . people are coming into our country illegally and getting all kinds of benefits that they should not have . and this is what we get for being born here and putting our money in ! the government should give us what we or our spouse's put in with interest if this is the case . if we the people that have gov. pensions would have known this we would have put the contrbutions inboth pensions. funny many of the state workers like IRS auditors had this opportunity to do so but the rest of us knew not of this. what another sham by our gov.
It was really traumatic to learn of the WEP and GPO in 1999 when I retired! Congress passed this 17 years before but doesn't tell anyone. It is just another way to tax us and not give us anything back in return. Congress spent this money for 78 years on many stupid things except for our RETIREMENTS, and then reduces our benefits to cover up their own "thief of our money".
just recieved my first ss check, i am so distraught, should be 800 but because of wep it was 324. this is nothing short of legalized theft by our govt!!!!!!! please REPEAL SOON, OUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON IT
H.R.235 - Repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision
1,270 People Have Sent 2,884 Letters and Emails
Sign the Petition
Some recent comments: these messages are published with permission of the signer.
Repeal now!
Again, please at the very least, please repeal WEP for those of us living who have no choice in opting out of social security AFTER govt. employment.
HR235 is not the current bill in Congress concerning this Social Security discrimination
issue. The current bills in the 112th Congress are HR1332
and S2010. Please re-write your politicians. I hope all of our Congressional politicians
vote to repeal the GPO & WEP
Provisions
since 1995 concerning the
Social Security Offsets,
WEP & GPO. To date, I get a RUBBER stamped response
letter that they support the
Social Security Fairness Act
bills in Congress but nothing gets done. These bills sit in Congress and stagnate. Does anyone know if a Class Action Law suit can be instituted against the Federal Government for
discrimination. This current
Social Security Act is one of
the BIGGEST discriminatory
laws allowed by our politicians
Sign the Petition