RH Jones: An interesting discussion on double dipping
RH Jones to John Curry, January 26, 2013
Subject: RHJones input on: Fw: An interesting discussion of the
Double Dip.....
John,
Not mentioned here below is that Ex. President Ronald Reagan cut out our
spousal Social Security, if we are receiving a government retirement pension.
Our spouses worked hard with the intent of sharing their Social Security This
earned benefit is deserved. Further, I know of a fellow who "triple dipped" and
was cut by Reagan. This fellow was a public school guidance counselor, served in
the Army Reserves - to be eligible for a military pension - and worked a full
time blue-collar job at Firestone long enough to receive three retirement
pensions. He worked hard to gain these pensions for his later years and deserved
getting them. He was successful in doing all three jobs.
This exclusion from earned pensions was a serious government disregard for
hard working class people and should be returned into the Social Security law in
its original intended form. We and our spouses paid into these pensions and
deserved to be paid by them. That is not greed; it is the rewards for
hard work, the American way.
Please forward this message.
Robert H. Jones, retired teacher
From John Curry, January 26 2013
Jan 24, 2013
Can you tell me about double dipping?
I keep reading about public officials "double-dipping." Can you tell me
exactly what that is and why there seems to be so many government employees
doing it? I'm also wondering if the average Joe, the kind of guy who works in
the private sector, can double-dip after he retires and starts collecting Social
Security benefits.
First, let me say I am in no way a retirement or pension expert. But, I
can provide you with some basic information about public employee retirement and
what's commonly referred to as "double dipping" Double dipping is when a public
employee who has retired and is collecting his or her full pension is then
rehired and collects his or her regular salary and benefits AND public pension
at the same time.
This can happen a variety of ways, but the way most people refer to "double
dipping" is when someone — usually in a high-level position — simply submits the
correct paperwork to retire and is immediately re-hired at the same agency
without ever really leaving the job.
It's retirement "on paper" to start the pension benefits, but the public
employee just keeps on working the same job at the same wage.
Why public employees retire and keep working has to do with a few things.
One is that they can retire and start collection their pension much earlier than
workers in the private sector.
There are different permitted retirement ages for different types of
workers (teachers, law enforcement, ect.)
For employees in the Ohio School Retirement System, here is the following
edibility table:
A member who joins SERS before May 14, 2008 will be eligible for a
guaranteed lifetime monthly pension with the following combinations of age and
service credit. • 5 years of service credit at age 60; or • 25 years of service
credit at age 55; or • 30 years of service credit at any age.
Members who join SERS on or after May 14, 2008 will be eligible for a
guaranteed lifetime monthly pension with the following combinations: • 10 years
of service credit at age 62; or • 25 years of service credit at age 60; or • 30
years of service credit at age 55.
Other Ohio public employees have the same eligibility requirements as the
pre-2008 teachers retirement eligibility.
Law enforcement officers with at least 25 years of service may file for
retirement benefits at age 48 or older. This can include four to five years of
military service.
As you can see, these folks can potentially start collecting benefits quite
young. A public employee who starts working at age 22 could potentially retire
with full benefits at age 52 when he or she is still willing and able to work.
Please note that while it's controversial, there is nothing illegal about
public employees taking their pension and continuing to work, so many make the
choice to do just that. Whether or not you think they should be able to do this
is a matter of opinion.
In the public sector, of course, workers can't retire until age 66 or 67
(depending on when they were born) for full benefits. Those who take early
retirement at age 62 pay a 25 percent penalty on their benefits.
Workers who have reached full retirement age can indeed continue to work
and receive their full benefits. But, by the time most people are 67, they don't
want to continue to work unless they have to. According to the Social Security
Administration, social security benefits usually only cover about 40 percent of
the average person's expenses. If you haven't saved additional money in a
retirement account, you may have to continue to work or learn to live very
frugally off your social security benefits.
This may be the longest Mailbag answer ever, but I hope it helps explain
things. Because of the sensitive nature of this issue I included links to where
I got my information.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 9:31 PM
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