Sir:
Just discovered your website! BRAVO -- it is AMAZING!
Background -- Me - Retired Federal Employee under CSRS. Wife -- stay at home mom. No Employment history.
Even though a Federal Employee -- I also worked for jobs covered by SS. 30 Years worth of earnings - though only 20 years of substantial earnings. So my SS benefits are reduced because of the WEP. I understand that. Ahhhh, but my spouse is penalized through no fault of her own vis-a-vis an equivalent spouse with no work history whose husband worked in an SS covered position. Your opinion -- I know it is the law (The WEP) but isn't this a hidden form of discrimination against women (The majority) where their benefit from SS is reduced because a spouse has a federal pension AND SS versus a worker under SS whose spouse gets a larger amount? All things being equal -- I did some quick calculations based upon my earnings and my wife loses approximately $200 a month versus the regular SS recipients spouse. Any thoughts? Thank you!!!

Hi,

Everything you said is accurate, but it serves no purpose for me to opine on whether or not I believe that the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) fair. Only the U.S. congress has the power to change the law, so you may want to direct your concerns to the offices of your congressional representative.

One thing that you may not be aware of is that if you die before your wife, her widow's benefit will be calculated based on your benefit rate without any WEP reduction. I assume when Congress enacted the provision they felt that it was equitable to calculate spousal benefits based on the worker's WEP reduced rate, but that the spouse shouldn't continue to be penalized after the worker's death.

Best, Jerry