Hi Larry,

Does a foreign spousal pension trigger WEP?
A US person who is eligible for SS benefits on her own account, but has also started receiving a foreign pension because she is the spouse of someone eligible for a foreign pension. She has never worked, in the foreign country, so the pension she get's is totally non-dependent on her previous work (it is dependent on her husbands previous work).

Thanks

Hi,

No. Only pensions based on a person's own earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes can cause a WEP reduction (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf).

Best, Jerry