My husband worked in local government in colo for 7 years. This brings his ss earnings to 23 yrs. He is considering a job change to Washington state government that will not pay into ss. He would retire with 23 yrs into ss payments. Is there a best strategy to figure how much more $ he needs to make and put into savings to best make up the difference? And how will this affect spousal benefits? Is there anyone to talk to about this?

Hi. If your husband collects a pension(s) based on his earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes, then his Social Security retirement benefit amount would likely be lowered due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The amount of any reduction caused by WEP would depend on many different factors, such as the amount of your husband's non-covered pension and the number of years in which he had 'substantial earnings' that were subject to Social Security taxes. The yearly earnings amounts that are considered substantial for WEP purposes are listed on the second page of the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

WEP can also indirectly affect the calculation of spousal benefits, because unreduced spousal benefits are calculated based on 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA). So, if the worker's PIA is reduced due to WEP, then any spousal benefits payable on that worker's account would also be lower.

If a person applies for spousal benefits and if they receive a pension based on their own earnings from a governmental agency that were exempt from Social Security taxes, their spousal benefits could be subject to offset due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision. For information on GPO, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is fully programmed to handle benefit computations involving WEP and GPO, so it sounds like you and your husband should strongly consider using the software to do your Social Security planning.

Best, Jerry