I have a government pension and my spouse will receive a benefit if I predecease him. Will he receive my unreduced SS or my reduced SS.
Both are higher than his own.

Hi. That depends on the type of reduction involved. If your benefit rate is reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), that reduction will not apply when calculating the survivor benefit amount payable from your account. However, if your benefit rate is reduced because you started drawing your Social Security retirement benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA), then your surviving spouse's widower's benefit amount would be limited to the higher of a) your reduced for age benefit rate, or b) 82.5% of your primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

For example, say Jane's normal PIA would be $1000. However, because Jane also receives a pension based on earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes her PIA is reduced to $600 due to WEP. Also, since Jane started drawing her benefits at age 62 her monthly benefit rate was reduced to $440. If Jane dies before her spouse, the WEP reduction would be removed when calculating the survivor rate. But, the reduction for age that was applied to Jane's benefit would still count. And, since Jane's reduced benefit rate was lower than 82.5% of her PIA, her spouse's potential widower rate would be limited to a maximum of 82.5% of Jane's normal PIA, or $825 (i.e. .825 x $1000).

Best, Jerry