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hot foot it to your representatives office

Gotrope said:
new fantasy bill. this has been back room discussion for 20 years. it might get a floor vote.
explain why your body is wrecked after 35 years working for USPS...

Social Security bill targets retirement age 60 for physical jobs New Social Security bill would lower retirement age to 60 for some workers
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I don't believe even Rural Carriers understand how unsafe our jobs are. I also believe a lot has been done to keep how unsafe our jobs are from us.

Perhaps this is from to many movies. We seem to believe 10 minutes of extremely dangerous during a full carrier is higher risk than 30 years of high risk.
 
if people looked at the x-rays or imaging of a person before and after just 10 years of a career lifting or repetitive motion...they would be shocked. probably why ortho surgeries are a growing field.

ever wonder why forensic medical specialist can tell the likely career of a 40 year old on the table? the bone damage does not lie. the deterioration and deformation of ligament and tendon attachment to bone is significant in those with constant lifting or repetitive motion.

there's no doubt who the brick layers were when they find old graves.
 
Gotrope said:
if people looked at the x-rays or imaging of a person before and after just 10 years of a career lifting or repetitive motion...they would be shocked. probably why ortho surgeries are a growing field.

ever wonder why forensic medical specialist can tell the likely career of a 40 year old on the table? the bone damage does not lie. the deterioration and deformation of ligament and tendon attachment to bone is significant in those with constant lifting or repetitive motion.

there's no doubt who the brick layers were when they find old graves.
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yup, it’s amazing the damage those in manual labor fields do to ourselves.
 
RammerJammer said:
For some reason, I can’t quite put my finger on it, I’ve come to the conclusion that any proposed bill title that ends in “Fairness Act” has a 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance of ever becoming law.
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Thank Goodness.....The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealing both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)...... see there is a chance! I also think the Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act is a great idea!
 
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Havenowgone said:
Thank Goodness.....The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealing both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)......
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but how is it fair to those of us receiving 1.1% of our salaries in our golden years as opposed to 80%? that disparity was never addressed.

i understand the whole they paid into social security spiel.

but it chaps my behind that the public thinks we get some great retirement when we do not. not anymore. i would gladly give up part of my social security to get 80% of what i make now in retirement.

perhaps i don't understand it all in its entirety...but it still chaps my behind. 1.1% is a mere pittance compared to 80%.
 
In order for someone under the CSRS to get 80% of their high 3 average during retirement, you would have to work 42 years. I worked 41 years and I get around 78% minus my wifes survivor benefit, so the final amount comes to around 73-74%. Assuming someone retired under FERS at age 62, 1.1% is the multiplier, not the amount you will receive. Example...$80000 high 3 X (1.1 X your years of service) If someone worked 41 years, it would be 41 X 1.1 which equals 45.1%. 45.1 percent of your high 3 would be $36080 per year, plus your social security and thrift savings. I worked part time jobs during my career and paid social security tax and now with the Social Security Fairness act passed, I get full social security for the amount I contributed and the years I worked those part time jobs. Before the SSA Fairness act, I had a 60% reduction in my SSA benefit. That Fairness act fixed that. I still only get a small amount because I only contributed to SSA for around 12 years. I think FERS is a very good retirement system, especially if you can work under it for many years and faithfully contributed to thrift savings and took advantage of the government match. I had the opportunity to switch to FERS in 1987 and looking back, I would have a better pension if I had done that.
 
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Havenowgone said:
Thank Goodness.....The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealing both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)...... see there is a chance! I also think the Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act is a great idea!
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I’m glad that you and your spouse get to benefit from that bill. I read that it was first introduced in 2005 and finally passed in 2025. Think of all the people who have probably passed that were screwed by congress for so many years. I also read that the CBO estimated it to add $196B to the deficit over 10 years and reduce the SS Trust Fund insolvency by 6 months. I guess we will never even get a CBO estimate of what the Federal Retirement Fairness Act would cost.
 
Yes, the Social Security Fairness Act took a long time to get passed. I never thought I'd see it passed in my lifetime and was elated to have this injustice corrected. I think about all the retirees who died before passage and never collected the amount they were entitled to. I also think of the billions of dollars SSA saved (stole) on the backs of retired federal workers who contributed fully to Social Security working part time jobs or another career but were penalized when it was time to collect. Social Security needs to be fixed or it will run out of money but it shouldn't be unjustly fixed on the backs of one group of retirees, it should be fixed by everyone in the system. Congress has their work to do. I would love to see the Blue Collar Social Security Act pass and hope that it won't take as long to pass as the SS Fairness Act did.
 
oi veh. said:
but how is it fair to those of us receiving 1.1% of our salaries in our golden years as opposed to 80%? that disparity was never addressed.

i understand the whole they paid into social security spiel.

but it chaps my behind that the public thinks we get some great retirement when we do not. not anymore. i would gladly give up part of my social security to get 80% of what i make now in retirement.

perhaps i don't understand it all in its entirety...but it still chaps my behind. 1.1% is a mere pittance compared to 80%.
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Seriously, the union needs to step up and explain benefits to people. Post a YouTube, do something. So many would make better choices if they understood the system they work under and the longterm needs of investing in retirement.
 
I think a good rule of thumb about a FERS retirement is you will probably draw about the % of your final salary from your pension, SS, and TSP as the years you’ve worked. Work 10 years, draw about 30% of your final salary from all 3. Work 40 years, draw 120% or more depending on how you invested your TSP and how much you choose to take out each year,
 
RammerJammer said:
I think a good rule of thumb about a FERS retirement is you will probably draw about the % of your final salary from your pension, SS, and TSP as the years you’ve worked. Work 10 years, draw about 30% of your final salary from all 3. Work 40 years, draw 120% or more depending on how you invested your TSP and how much you choose to take out each year,
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that's optimistic numbers on that 10 years -not after tax and any elected medical or other costs.

the longer you leave the money UNTOUCHED in the TSP, the better off you will be. i haven't touched mine since retirement and it's doing surprisingly well. but, I did start adding at least 20% of income from the first day eligible over decades. I didn't put money in the last 3 years and irrationally think it was going to fund any lifestyle other than fashionable homelessness. if you retire with 100k after 30 years - you not only missed the boat, you miss the entire continent.

unfortunately , I hear from many who think 80k after 30 years is an incredible amount of money. I'm just sad for their understanding of finances. and then I hear they took the money and bought a new truck. it's frightening.
I mean, unless you plan to die within a year. you are totally screwed on money to survive on.
 
RammerJammer said:
There are tons of YouTube videos explaining federal retirement. Just google, watch one, and watch how many more pop up. One that I like is Dallen Haws of Haws Federal Advisors.
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I like Haws, he's sensible and keeps things very simple for those who don't understand financial terms. He's a great first step to owning your own retirement.
 
Gotrope said:
that's optimistic numbers on that 10 years -not after tax and any elected medical or other costs.

the longer you leave the money UNTOUCHED in the TSP, the better off you will be. i haven't touched mine since retirement and it's doing surprisingly well. but, I did start adding at least 20% of income from the first day eligible over decades. I didn't put money in the last 3 years and irrationally think it was going to fund any lifestyle other than fashionable homelessness. if you retire with 100k after 30 years - you not only missed the boat, you miss the entire continent.

unfortunately , I hear from many who think 80k after 30 years is an incredible amount of money. I'm just sad for their understanding of finances. and then I hear they took the money and bought a new truck. it's frightening.
I mean, unless you plan to die within a year. you are totally screwed on money to survive on.
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I agree. I never contributed to thrift savings because I didn't get a government match but I did contribute to an IRA. Without that IRA I would not have been able to retire, or at least retire completely. I use the 4% withdrawal rule for my investments, so if someone had 500,000 in thrift savings or an IRA, they would be able to withdraw 4% annually along with adjusting for inflation each year, and the money should last, if invested correctly. In this scenario that would amount to $20000 per year, to start. You are right that $80000 would not cut it for most people. I read about all of the government retirees with a million dollar thrift account, which is awesome. Rural carriers really need to take thrift seriously and contribute at least the government match, which is 5%, I believe. By investing 10% each year (or more if you can) for your entire career, a rural should be in good shape for retirement, if the thrift is invested correctly and the rural carrier worked for a substantial amount of years contributing to their thrift account.
 
Back to this Blue Collar bill, the Labor bureau estimated that 39% of the workforce performs physical labor jobs. Can you imagine the fraud that would be rampant if this bill were ever passed. Everybody would be coming out of the woodwork claiming they work their fingers to the bone. If you think SS was running short on funds now, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
 
RammerJammer said:
Back to this Blue Collar bill, the Labor bureau estimated that 39% of the workforce performs physical labor jobs. Can you imagine the fraud that would be rampant if this bill were ever passed. Everybody would be coming out of the woodwork claiming they work their fingers to the bone. If you think SS was running short on funds now, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
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That is a very good point! I do agree that blue collar workers should be able to retire earlier because of the wear and tear. Right now the only way to get SS early is to be declared disabled. It would be interesting to see the list of jobs that would qualify. Another question is Medicare. Most people keep working until they are 65 because the cost of health insurance is so expensive. Would those blue collar workers be able to qualify early for Medicare? The stress on an already broken SS system is another concern. They have to figure out how to keep SS solvent. Increase the amount taken from workers?, somehow change the rules to have the upper class pay more? attack and remove fraud in the system? The bill makes sense but it will be difficult to pass without figuring out many questions.
 
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