SSA has reduced my husband's SS benefit because he is also receiving a Canadian pension. The problem is that the WEP reduction was based on his pension in Canadian dollars, which resulted in a reduction of more than 50% of his Canadian pension, if converted to US dollars. He appealed this decision and after waiting 5 months for SSA's reply they didn't even address the concern of not converting Canadian dollars to US dollars. The "form" letter indicated that he would have to go through an ALJ hearing as the next step. Tried calling the local SSA office and the National number, but the local office will not return calls and the National number will not help either. How should he proceed to correct this miscalculation? Does he need a lawyer? Do your services cover this issue?

Hi,

Our services don't include attorney referrals or representing clients at Social Security hearings, but it sounds like filing for a hearing would probably be the best way to resolve your husband's issue. You're not required to have an attorney in order to pursue a hearing, and it may not be necessary to have one if there was a clear error in the processing of your husband's case. It might also be difficult to find an attorney to represent your husband on this issue, since most attorneys who specialize in Social Security cases only handle disability claims.

Assuming that your husband does choose to file for a hearing, it's important to file the request timely. Hearing requests must be filed within 60 days of the date shown on the reconsideration notice. The form used to apply for a hearing is an HA-501, which can be printed out from the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ha-501.html.

Best, Jerry