Dad recently passed. My 74 yr old Mom retired from State of Mass with a small pension. Her pension check is comprised of two parts. One labeled pension and one labeled Annuity. The annuity portion from what I understand is her contributions plus interest. SSA is calculating her GPO including both parts. Should the GPO calculation include the annuity portion?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I wish I could answer your question, but I'm not familiar with the specifics of the Massachusetts State Retirement System. If you believe there is a possibility that Social Security is using the wrong amount to calculate your mother's government pension offset (GPO), I would suggest filing an appeal (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf). That would assure that her case receives a review with a fresh set of eyes.

Best, Jerry