Social Security Fairness Act clears Senate procedural hurdle, on path for final passage

[Joe Nation]

18. The way it worked in my state

We still paid the same 3 or 6 percent or whatever the percentage was that we paid into SSA but instead of paying the fed, the contribution went directly into the state pension system. There was also a seperate contribution the employee made and some state match. The SS contributions made before, during, or after the state job added up to a much smaller SS benefit after retirement because many of the years that would have been part of the payout calculation do not count as part of your income. Nobody is getting more than their contributions allow just like someone who only worked short periods of their adult life. The rub is that the WEP penalizes people for having state pensions by reducing the SS benefit that wasn't that much to begin with. State jobs are not nearly as lucrative as the private sector. So you get to work for low wages all of your career and then have your SS benefits reduced once you retire and start enjoying that sweet, sweet dwindling retirement income.