Hi Larry,
I am a public school teacher that will need to apply the windfall offset because I only have 25+ years (not 30) of social security withholdings. I am now 62 years old. Can I begin to claim social security without an offset at this time since I am not retiring from teaching & teacher's pension? I know that the amount of SS benefits are reduced if I retire prior to my full retirement age.

Also, when I do retire, would the offset be applied to my age 62 amount? I am trying to run the numbers to see if I will be significantly disadvantaged by retiring at 62 since there would naturally be an offset anyway when I retire from teaching in 3+ years.
Thank you,
Brandon

Hi Brandon. Your Social Security benefit rate wouldn't be subject to any Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduction until you actually start drawing your non-covered pension. However, whether or not you could actually be paid Social Security benefits depends on your work and earnings. If you continue working, the Social Security earnings test would continue to apply until you reach full retirement age (FRA). That's true even if the wages you're earning are exempt from Social Security taxes (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html).

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is programmed to handle WEP computations as well as the earnings test, so it sounds like you should strongly consider using our software to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry