Hi Larry,

52yo here considering a new job with city government. I've been working full-time since age 17 (military but no pension benefit eligibility) followed by private sector to date. Am I correct in my reading of WEP that with my now 30 plus years of work, any potential government pension would not result in a reduction of future social security benefits?

Thx

Hi,

Yes, assuming that your earnings in at least 30 years meet the definition of 'substantial earnings' as defined in the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) legislation and you paid Social Security taxes on those earnings. In that case your Social Security retirement benefits will be exempt from any WEP reduction. For a list of the annual 'substantial earnings' amounts, refer to page 2 of the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

Best, Jerry