Larry,
I worked from 1971 until 1998 in the private sector and healthcare, with my qualifying quarters satisfied. At 41 years of age, I became a police officer for a southern US city that did not withdraw FICA. I did work at several second jobs through 2012 that DID deduct FICA. In 2017 , I was injured in the line of duty and was retired with a pension.
In 2018, I started SS benefits, but penalized under the WEP.
I satisfied my contributions, my pension is a full disability pension. Should I appeal the calculation of benefits, as it reduces my benefit by $600 a month? Doesn't seem fair since I did pay into Social Security for over 25 years.

Hi,

I can't tell you whether or not your benefit rate was calculated correctly, but you could use our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) for that purpose. Whether or not to appeal the determination on your claim is up to you, but it sounds like the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) would almost certainly apply in your case.

Social Security's calculations are accurate in the vast majority of cases, but obviously errors do sometimes occur. You state that WEP reduces your benefit rate by $600, but the actual amount of reduction shouldn't be that high. The WEP calculation formula is too complex for me to summarize here (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300605360), but the current maximum reduction to a person's monthly benefit rate resulting from the use of the WEP formula currently should not amount to more than roughly $480.

Best, Jerry