Hi Larry
We moved to the USA from South Africa in 2001 and have been working here full time since then. I resigned earlier this year and have just turned 62.
I receive a monthly government pension in South Africa since I was retired from the police service due to medically unfitness. I had almost 20 years service in the police and contributed to that pension plan the whole time. This pension is taxed in South Africa and gets paid into a bank account over there.
My question is twofold:

1. I want to file for Social Security and would like to know if and how that SA pension would influence it.

2. My wife earns a much higher wage here in the USA than I ever did. She will reach full retirement age in 9 years time. If I file now, can I suspend and file for spousal benefit once she retires?

Thank you
Kind regards
Charlie

Hi,

It sounds like your pension from South Africa would cause your U.S. Social Security retirement rate to be reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). For specific information on how WEP affects benefits, refer to this Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

You can't file for your own retirement benefit and then later suspend it and receive a full spousal benefit. You could, however, start receiving your retirement benefits and later file for additional spousal benefits. But, you would only be eligible for the additional spousal benefits if 50% of your wife's full retirement age rate (PIA) exceeds your own PIA. And, you will keep any reduction for age that was applied to your retirement benefit rate if you start drawing your benefits before your full retirement age.

You may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website. The software can handle WEP calculations as well as dual entitlement cases, so it should be able to help you and your wife determine your best filing strategy.

Best, Jerry