Non-Covered Pension - WEP / GPO

I am 64.5; I started working at 16 paying Social Security until I took a job with the US Army, as a civilian explosives technician, in 1980. From 1980 until 1989, 9 years, I worked for the Army and then went on to work for the Department of Public safety/State Police as a civilian bomb technician in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1996, a period of 6 years. I moved on, after I’d had enough, to a normal life once again.

My wife is 63 and recently retired from OPERS. She took a plop to reduce her monthly benefit to help SSI because of the WEP provision. Currently she is receiving 1950 month and if she starts collecting SSI at 64 it would be $270. It goes up $21+ a month for every year she waits which does not amount to enough to offset waiting. I am 57still working and am self employed and have not paid a substantial amount into SSI. Not sure how her spousal benefit from me would affect her future SSI. The question being should she start collecting now or wait based on her portion of my SSI.

3 years ago, my husband started in a teaching position that does not pay in to social security. He has spent the last 22 years paying into SS and has achieved his 40 credits. The SS website states that, if he retired now, he would get $1150.00 per month. I understand that the max WEP is $428.00 bringing his benefit down to $722. My questions are:
1) He continues to work a second job that does still pay in to social security ($15,000-$20.000 per year). This will likely continue for 5 more years. How would that affect the WEP figure?

Hello Larry,
This is a follow-up to a question you answered: I started drawing benefits at age 68, last month. I'm still working. My wife did not get quite half of what my benefit amount was because they said she gets half of only my PIA at age 66, and I received credit for the extra 2 years I worked. (She now gets my age 66 PIA - 40% WEP divided by 2.) These formulas are so complicated and us laymen can not figure them out ourselves. We are at the mercy of the Social Security Administration to give us the "benefit amounts."

Hello,
My wife and I receive social security. I receive 60% of my PIA because of WEP. My wife's benefit amount is based on my work record - so she gets about 30% of my PIA. AM I correct that if I pass first, the WEP goes away and she will get about 100% of my PIA? Thanks!

Hi,

I am retired from a federal government job (non-appropriated) I was told that upon my receiving my social security benefit that my retirement pay would be offset. However, I have been paying my social security taxes since my employment there.I am led to believe that other retirees have made that same claim but still had their retirement pay reduced. Is there any hidden reasons for that, or is the administration department wrong in factoring that in?

Hi,

Hi Larry
The WIndfall Elimination Provision on a foreign pension is said to be up to 50%, but are there guidelines for calculating a more accurate approximation?

thanks in advance
Ben

Hi Ben,

Yes, for more information on the windfall elimination provision (WEP), refer to the following pamphlet: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

I am 67 years old and over full retirement age. My recent benefit statement advised that when I applied I would receive $871.30 per month. I am a native born American but worked in Canada and can receive monies from the Canada Pension Plan also. I advised Social Security of this and the numbers they sent me say that when the Canadian Pension starts my benefit rate from Social Security will drop by 28% to $625.80. Then when I add my Canadian pension to that (adjusted for the exchange rate) it only goes up 9%! So by activating the Canadian pension I seem to be being penalized.

Hi,

My brother-in-law started drawing his own Social Security benefit at FRA which was over a year ago. His benefit is really low because he worked for the government for 35 years and retired then he took a job covered by S.S. Now his wife has turned 62 this year. She will be entitled to a much higher benefit than his current benefit when she files in 4 years. Can my brother-in-law switch to a spousal benefit now even though he's been drawing on his own record for over a year?

Hi,