I paid into both Social Security and Ohio Public Employees Retirement OPERs. Why can't I collect both?

you can collect booth but you SSI you won't collect at the full benift that you earned. I know i live in Ohio and it sucks. It is the same for all county and state employees

In a nutshell, you CAN collect both. BUT... and that's a big word. Whatever retirement fund you have, per the state, you only get a certain percentage of 'it'. That way they can pay you for as long as you live. Now, here's the snafu. Collecting both-in a way-IS double dipping. So, instead, they give you a PERCENTAGE of both. Whatever you are entitled to at retirement age, the two systems SPLIT the cost to EQUAL 100%. That is the simple answer. Now, you must decide, with what calculations between the two systems, offers the most money.

A friend of mine collected ALL of his SS at age 66 while still working full time on pers. He was able to do this because he had so few points in SS. At that stage, he was allowed to work a full time job with no limit of earned income.

You need to talk to a financial planner who is familiar with the retirement laws. I, too, have 20 years in SS, and will have over 20 years in PERS when I retire. One thing I have learned in my research is that every state has different rules.

Good luck! I wish you the best.

You can't collect Social Security because you are not old enough. You need to be at least 62.

When you do collect Social Security you will be subject to the windfall elimination provision unless you have more time on the books than you have stated. Workers who have less than 20 years of Social Security coverage with substantial wages (that are not really substantial) will get a reduced benefit. This results in people who had part time jobs covered by Social Security but whose principal job wages were exempt not getting a windfall from the tilt of benefits that favors low wage earners.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10045.html

The reason you can't collect from both is that each system is intended to provide a safety net for lower income workers and less support as your income rises. SSA looks at the big picture, how many years you put into BOTH systems and how much the state system is already guaranteeing you and reduces your SSA benefits accordingly.

A traditional pension isn't a safety net. It's based on years of service and uses a percentage of income.

i'm not familiar with the provisions of OPERS.

the likely cause is that both plans provide "extra" benefits to workers with short work careers ... Social Security, for example, only requires 40 quarters [10 years] of work to achieve "full" benefits.

If OPERs is the same, as I suspect, then it would be relatively easy for someone to work 12 years in each of three such systems and then draw three "full" checks -- all of them subsidized by the other workers in each system.

***

I believe that when the time comes to retire from Ohio that you will have the opportunity to withdraw all of your contributions to OPERS, plus the accumulated interest, and roll it over without tax penalty into an individual IRA plan.

That way, you'll get social security and the annual withdrawals from the IRA [which will be smaller than the pension OPERS provides 10 year employees but won't draw a subsidy from other Ohio government employees].

Pers Ohio

I have no idea what you are talking about here. I am both a Government employee and i pay FICA tax. If you are basing your information off a state that may have some exemptions that is totally different. My retirement plan is not the best but i will get it til the day i die. I also will get my SS when i reach 67.

Ohio Pers

Ronald Reagan's answer to taking social security money in 1983.

Social Security Disability Guide - http://disabilityhelp.siopu.com/?QsE