Twenty five years ago I cashed out my pers. Now today I am filling under my wife’s social security.How will this affect my social security retirement?

Hi,

I assume that you're referring to a public employee pension plan where your earnings were exempt from Social Security taxes. If you received a lump sum payment in lieu of a pension then your lump sum would be prorated by Social Security and could result in a full or partial offset of any spousal benefits for which you might otherwise qualify. But, if you withdrew only your contributions, with or without interest, and you forfeited your rights to a pension then the withdrawal would likely have no effect on your spousal benefits.

If you're eligible for Social Security retirement benefits the same basic principle would apply to those benefits. In other words, a lump sum proration could reduce your benefit rate whereas a withdrawal would not.

Best, Jerry