I withdrew from the Louisiana Teachers Retirement System and moved into the ORP in 1993. My wife and I are both at Full Retirement Age. Our plan is for her to file for her SS benefits and for me to apply for spousal benefits. I will delay receiving benefits from my ORP until age 70 1/2 which will then trigger the WEP reduction on the SS benefit I receive. Will the GPO be a factor in this plan?

Hi,

Hi Larry!
I was born in Romania, and worked there for 24 years. I moved to the US, became US citizen and worked for 25 years.
I paid social security taxes on both countries for the corresponding years worked in each country. I'm eligible for pension in Romania, but my concern is that it will reduce my SS benefits in the US. Is this true? All the information I found is confusing to me. Please enlighten me if you can.
Thank you!

Hi,

Hello Larry,

When FERS came into being I worked for the VA but no one could explain well so I stayed with CSA. My husband who had paid full SS for 40 years died suddenly. I was told as my govt retirement went up I got less SS so I retired at 61 with 25 years. 24 years later I get $1500 per month retirement and $274. SS. Whenever we get a raise they threaten to reduce my SS. I got $29 more per month this year and nothing on SS. This practice is so unfair to widows and has not stopped the double dippers making big bucks.

I retired from my Public Employee Job (city building inspector) in December 2001. I had 11 years in the position and was eligible for a New Mexico Public Employee Retirement pension. I was also 62 and eligible for Social Security and was advised to take early SS benefits from SSA. I did so and my SS checks were figured at $850 per month, much less than my friends who had also worked over 30 years paying into SS. Recently I heard my monthly SS was decreased because of my 11 years as a public employee. I paid into SS 33 years and receive less than half my friends' checks.

This is concerning WEP and how and when the WEP amount is calculated considering foreign exchange rates. I am filing at age 70, and have determined that the reduction for WEP will limit at 50% of my foreign pension (instead of being based upon a percentage of the first bend point). My questions are:
1. Is the foreign exchange rate applied to my amount of foreign pension only when first applying for SS benefits, or is it re-calculated monthly or yearly, based upon the then current exchange rate?

I suspect the WEP was not appropriately applied in my case. As a Canadian I receive OAS and CPP. I believe they erroneously applied WEP to the total when it should have only been applied again CPP. Do I have a right to the original document reflecting how they made the inital determination?

Hi,

Regarding the WEP, A previous FAQ answer referred to the IRS POMS "RS 00605.364 Determining Pension Applicability, Eligibility Date, and Monthly Amount". At the bottom of this document is the sentence: "However, if the pension ceases and the NH is no longer entitled to the pension, recompute the PIA without considering the pension effective with the first month for which the claimant is no longer entitled to the pension".

Survivor Benefits and WEP. Hi. My wife is 14 years younger and has WEP eligible retirement savings. I have always worked in jobs that pay into SS, so I have no WEP eligible retirement savings. What impact will this situation have on survivor benefits for my wife? Is there any WEP considered/calculated on her survivor benefit?

Hi,

I am doing breakeven analysis re: taking Social Security at age 62. At age 65 I will begin collecting a pension that will cause my Social Security benefits to be affected by WEP (26 years substantial earnings). Will the years between age 62 - 65 be taxed by WEP, even though I am not collecting the pension yet? I thought that I read WEP begins whenever one starts taking Social Security, but the Social Security Admin. WEP Calculator does NOT reduce my benefits when I put retirement at age 62 and pension at age 65.