I am a retired teacher and am receiving a monthly pension from my retirement account. As a result I receive about half of my SS check due to the WEP program. Is there anything I can do about this or can I work to get the quarters I need for a full monthly check? Thank you.

Hi,

Foreign Spouse (UK) has the Gov't Pension Offset (GPO) applied to her UK teacher's pension - is this correct?

In your Forbes.com 'Social Security Q&A' column of Aug. 3, 2014, you addressed the question, "Are My Foreign Spouse and I in Danger of Double Dipping?" in regard to receiving U.S. Social Security spousal benefits while receiving a UK pension. According to your expert, Jerry Lutz, “Foreign pensions are not considered ‘government’ pensions for purposes of the government pension offset provision.”

Hi Larry,
I worked in the UK for 25 years and then the US for 25 years. During these years I paid into each countries social security schemes.
Does the windfall provision reporting rule include ALL foreign pensions from previous foreign employers? As I read the rule, I will be penalized for payments from pensions earned before I came to the usa. Is this fair? or even legal?

Hi,

I am 66 and a California school teacher affected by WEP/GPO. I am eligible to collect SS now because of other employment prior to teaching. I want to continue teaching two more years.

Can I file for SS now and get my full benefit while I continue to work? I assume that my SS benefit will be reduced by WEP/GPO when I begin to receive my school pension at age 68. When does WEP/GPO come into play? When I file at 66 or when I begin taking the school pension at age 68?

Hi,

Dear Larry!

As a citizen of an East European country, I spent 3 years in a Swedish university as guest researcher and paid to their social security system. This makes me eligible for ~ 150 USD monthly benefit, they call it basic pension, when I turn 61.

Years later I came to the US, became US citizen, and keep contributing to the social security in the US. Quite independently from my work in Sweden.

My plan is to claim US social security at age 62.

I recieve a qov't pension. My SS benefit is reduced by 40%. My wife is ready to file for SS benefits. Her payment will be a lot greater then mine. Can l file for spouses payments when she files therefor increasing my payments.

Hi,

I worked at a small private College for 34 years, paying into Social Security. I retired from that and started working in the Public School system (high school). I am enrolled in their state wide retirement program and will be vested in it after (5) years. My question is this: Will I receive my full Social Security payment (established to be around $1300) plus my retirement benefits from my involvement in the public school system (5 years, approx. $700 per month). Does my payment from the public school system affect my Social Security payments? Thank you.

I taught overseas for the Dept. of Defense Dependents Schools (Dodds) for 10 years and paid Social Security for 40 quarters. I have a small federal retirement w/Dodds and a Texas Teacher's Annuity. The Texas Teacher's Annuity doesn't pay social security so a Windfall Provision reduces my SS. There is talk of doing away with it, but no telling when. Having taught for Dodds overseas and paid SS, should I be penalized since I was teaching for the U.S. Government for those ten years? Is it better to take SS now at 69 or wait until May when I'm 70 to see what happens with Windfall?

I am a retired Texas teacher. I retired in 2014 I will be 66 09/15/2016. At 63 I filed on my ex-husband's benefits and was told I would not receive any money because I made too much money. Everytime I call or go in to see Social Security they tell me something different. Today I had two people on different lines telling the opposite things. The one I like said in September I will receive $504 and month. There is also a letter from Carolyn Covin
The contained this"Because You Have Already Filed a Claim for Benefits

After working in the private sector and having “substantial earnings” and Social Security contributions for 25 consecutive years, I left the workforce in 2012 at age 45, took two years off to get a graduate degree, and then became a public elementary school teacher in Massachusetts. I intend to work exclusively as a public school teacher for at least 15 years (with no outside covered work during this time, thus no Social Security contributions) and expect to collect a modest pension from this brief teaching career starting at about age 63.