Dear sir,
I had read an earlier article of yours where you had contacted Jerry Lutz who confirmed that “Foreign pensions are not considered “government pensions” for purposes of the government offset provision”.
I am a US/UK dual citizen and would be grateful to know whether this applies to my UK pension with regards to me claiming spousal benefit based on my wife’s US Social Security as was mentioned in your article. My wife is planning to retire this year at age 65 and I will be 65 next year.
Yours Sincerely
Arthur

Hi Arthur,

Your UK pension would have no bearing on your eligibility for spousal benefits nor your benefit rate. Foreign pensions are not considered as government pensions for purposes of the GPO provision, as is specified in the first bullet of section B of the following reference from Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202608400.

You and your wife should strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to determine your best overall strategy for claiming Social Security benefits.

Best, Jerry