I worked 15 years on the railroad before receiving an occupational disability. I am am now eligible for social security retirement based on previous occupations prior to working for the railroad. I am also receiving a public service pension through Ohio Police and Fire. How do I recover my social security earnings?
Thank you

Hi. You can't withdraw your Social Security contributions (i.e. taxes) if that's what you had in mind. You could, however, file for Social Security retirement benefits. However, if the pension you get from Ohio is based on your earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes, your Social Security benefit rate will almost certainly be reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). For more information on WEP, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

I'm not an expert on Railroad pensions, but I do know that if a person who receives Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits also receives Social Security benefits then the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) offsets the tier 1 portion of their RR pension dollar for dollar by the amount of their Social Security benefit. I'm not certain whether or not that would apply to the type of disability benefit that you receive, but you may want to discuss it with the RRB.

Best, Jerry