State Employees and Social Security

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How can I find out if the State employees in a given State are required to pay into social security? I am interested in New Jersey in particular.

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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 1,425 • Replies: 11

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@gollum,

google

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@gollum,

Apparently New Jersey state employees are on the Social Security system except police and firefighters.

Quote:

Pension benefits in New Jersey average $26,000. State employees receive $25,000 on average and local government employees about $16,000. Teacher pensions average $40,000.[1] While police and fire personnel receive higher average benefits, their benefits are inflated by comparison with other groups (both public and private) because New Jersey police and fire retirees do not receive Social Security. Correcting for this brings safety personnel average benefits down to $41,402.

https://www.njpp.org/budget/new-jersey-has-modest-public-pension-benefits

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@Blickers,

I'm not sure I would want my retirement to be at the mercy of New Jersey's financial condition. Or any other state for that matter.

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@Blickers,

Blickers-

Thanks very much.

I wisher there were a central place that listed all 50 States.

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@gollum,

Blickers-

Also, it seems odd that New Jersey police and firemen would not receive social security while all other State (and municipal?) employees do.

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Roger, gollum:
My sister was a nurse at U of Illinois hospital, she was lucky in changing jobs to qualify for Social Security through that other job, but the nurses who stayed at U of Illinois hospital were on a state retirement system, not Social Security. And now they are kind of stuck, getting cut back.

If you think New Jersey's finances are in bad shape, you should see Illinois. Four governors in the last 30 years went to jail.

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@Blickers,

Blickers-

Excellent point.

Strange that of all the governmental employees in New Jersey that police and fire would be the only ones that don't receive social security. In New York, police and fire generally get sweeter benefits than the other state and municipal employees.

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@Blickers,

https://www.hr.uic.edu/benefits/

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter:
Thanks. This is from a link off the page you linked:

Quote:

Federal Social Security does not cover University of Illinois employees eligible for SURS because the University does not contribute to the Social Security System. No Social Security taxes are withheld from your earnings. The only way to receive Social Security retirement benefits is if you have worked for other employers who have contributed to the Social Security System.

https://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/cf/benefits/index.cfm?Item_ID=127&rlink=126

You figure everyone goes on Social Security, but apparently not so.

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@Blickers,

I think is also a Railroad Retirement Fund that is exempt.

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@roger,

True, come to think of it I know someone who got that. But at least the railroad fund is Federal. The greater the pool supporting the fund, the better off you are. A state pool is smaller than the Federal, and is much more likely to go belly-up. Heck, the entire insurance fund for credit unions in Rhode Island went under one New Year's Day, Rhode Islanders with money in the credit union were wiped out. I'm not making this up-they had no money in their accounts as of Jan 1.

I think years later some settlement was made where they got 90 cents on the dollar, but still. I wonder about the people who were going to send their kid to college on that money or get an operation. They needed it right then, not years later.

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