Public Pensions Sock Social Security Benefits. Qualify for Social Security and a public pension? Take note of these two provisions that slash Social Security benefits by hundreds of dollars a month.

Kiplinger reports:

Workers who held jobs in both the private and public sectors over their careers could be in for a shock when it comes time to claim Social Security. If you get a government pension, the Social Security benefit that you earned from your private job could be slashed by hundreds of dollars a month.


That came as a big surprise to Jim Knight, 68, of Vallejo, Cal., who filed for his Social Security benefit at age 66. He had paid into the system in the years before he took a public teaching job. "I had earned my credits," says Knight, which provided him a Social Security retirement benefit of about $1,000 a month. But a year ago, Knight started getting his teacher's pension check and his monthly Social Security benefit dropped to $600. "It's unfair. That money is mine," he says.

Knight was hit by what's known as the "windfall elimination provision," or WEP. This provision affects workers who have had two careers: private-sector jobs that were covered by Social Security and state or local government jobs that were exempt from the Social Security payroll tax.

As we've warned people before: Social Security is a welfare program according to the U.S. Supreme Court. Like other welfare programs, it can change with the whims of Congress. Someday, Congress may decide that Warren Buffett isn't eligible for Social Security, even though Jan Schakowsky will fight tooth and nail to prevent Warren Buffett from having benefits diminished.