Hi
I am entitled to half my ex's pension benefits through a Federal Employee Pension Program once he retires. He will not collect Social Security as he did not pay into this system. I am age 62 in March 2018. I would like to begin collecting SS then which will be around $1100 per month.
When my ex retires will MY SS of $1100 a month be reduced by 2/3 due to me being eligible to recive half his pension for the 22 years we were married?
What if I am only entitled to some miniscule amount- say $500 from his pension per month? Will my $1100 per month then to reduced to say or $350 or so a month thru SS?
Thanks!
Charlene

Hi Charlene,

I have good news for you. You're mistaken if you believe that your Social Security benefit rate will be reduced by 2/3rds of the amount you receive from your ex-husband's federal pension. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision only applies if you receive a non-covered pension based on YOUR OWN government work (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). So, any pension or portion thereof that you receive based on your ex-husband's government work will have no bearing on your Social Security benefit rate.

Before filing for your Social Security benefits, you may want to consider running the maximization software available on this website in order to make sure that you choose the best strategy.

Best, Jerry