Dear Larry,
I'm a 68 year old retired teacher who paid into a state pension that didn't pay into social security for 12 years, and then I worked for a school for 6 years that did pay into social security. I was collecting a WEP-reduced social security for several years, and when my ex-husband of 24 years had passed away, I tried to file for spousal survivor benefits.
This is my background. I am a 66 year old American citizen. I worked 26 years overseas so I was not able to contribute to Social Security Insurance during those 26 years. (I received a lump sum payment from the company I worked for. I do not receive a monthly check from that company.)
However I also worked 20 years in the states and paid into the SSI every paycheck. I am semi retired and plan to continue to work for as long as I can and will therefore have to continue to pay SSI.
I have a private pension fund through the City of St Paul. When I retired in 2000, I was told I could only obtain the minimum pay out from SSA because of a Ronald Reagan ruling. Is this correct? I have been working since I was 16 as many others.My check every month is 291.00.
Hi,
Well, my assumption is that what you're referencing is the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). That amendment to the Social Security law was passed by Congress during the Reagan years.
Hi! I'm 59 years old and I have Parkinson's. I'm disabled and currently receiving Social Security Disability Benefits every month. I'm both a US citizen and Mexican Citizen and I'm about to start claiming my pension from Mexico at age 60. Would collecting my Mexican Pension affect my Social Security Disability benefits?
Hi,
I have a teachers retirement pension from California. I divorced my husband after 35 years of marriage and I have never remarried. I began collecting my teachers pension in 1996 and it will continue for the rest of my life. My ex-husband who worked in the private sector his whole life recently passed away. His wages throughout his work life were subject to social security withholding and would have been defined as highly compensated. Can I now claim social security based and my ex-husbands earnings and be exempted from the windfall elimination provisions of social security.
If I can retire at 65 from a Public Employees Benefit Plan and don't wish to file for Social Security until 66 yrs and 2 months, can I collect all moneys in the PERS account until I file for Social Security? I will actually file for my ex-husbands Social Security as he made more than me during prime earning years.
Obviously this seems really unfair, because I worked and earned both Social Security and PERS, but I believe this to be true. What percentage and/or how do they decide what amount to be given to the retiree also for both SS and PERS?
Larry thanks for the earlier advice on my wife and her options for SS since she is receiving benefits from a TRS retirement pension. As a follow up question is will my SS benefits be affected since we took the payout until we are both deceased in the case of her passing away before me? Thanks Pete
Hi Pete,
No. Your Social Security benefits would not be affected by any TRS pension payments that your wife receives, nor would it affect your Social Security benefits if you were to receive spousal or survivor benefits from your wife's TRS pension plan.
Larry, I am 61 (8/16/56) and a high wage earner. Current SS statement has me at 70 receiving a little over $3000 a month but I intent to continue to work till 66 in my current high income job. I then intent to work part time to extend to 70 receiving SS benefits. My Wife is 59 (9/7/59) and has been retired from her 30 plus years of teaching since 2014. She has been receiving full TRS retirement pension since then and we opted for the lifetime payout till we are both dead.
Hi Larry...I became disabled (paraplegia) back in 1983 and started collecting SSDI benefits shortly after. I eventually started teaching, although on a partial basis due to ongoing medical problems. Eventually, I accumulated enough service credit from teaching that I was able to apply/receive a disability retirement. My disability retirement is much smaller than what was expected, and due to my partial ability to teach through the full year of any of school year.
Dear Larry, early in my adult life, age 27, I had a disabling condition, and went on SSDI, which continued for 24 years. I went through SSA's Ticket to Work (TTW) program and have became gainfully employed through acquiring a different degree than I previously had. I worked a position that paid into SS for 2 additional years, until 2013, when I took a job a government job for The State of Ohio.