State and local government employers must provide Social Security and Medicare coverage to employees who are subject to mandatory withholding under federal law and to employees whose positions require coverage under a Section 218 Agreement.
Social Security
Since July 1, 1991, all state and local government employers must extend Social Security participation to employees who are not covered by a Section 218 Agreement and who are not participating in a qualifying public retirement system.
All state and local employees hired or rehired after March 31, 1986, must have Medicare coverage. Prior to that date, employees could only be covered by Medicare under a Section 218 Agreement.
Employees who have maintained continuous employment with the same employer since March 31, 1986, and are members of a qualifying public retirement system are excluded from Medicare coverage.
About the Social Security Fairness Act
PERA plans and PERA benefits do not have any changes as a result of the repeal of Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
A PERA member’s Social Security benefits might be impacted by the repeal of WEP and GPO if they are in a PERA position not covered by Social Security and if they had or have other employment covered by Social Security.
The best source of information regarding the WEP and GPO repeal is the new Social Security Administration (SSA) website page: Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) update. There is an option to subscribe to updates directly on the page.
