WEP and spousal benefits: I worked both corporate and education (thus WEP). For corporate only have 17 years. I am 61 and expect to claim SS at 62. Before WEP my early amount is ~$1,083, am assuming with WEP it would be~$593. My husband will file this year at age 66 (his full retirement) and receive ~$2980. I understand that my WEP affects what I can receive for spousal benefits. Is there a strategy as to order of filing, or even delay of one of us, that would maximize a spousal benefit? Thank you.

Hi,

WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) does not apply to spousal benefits. WEP can only affect Social Security retirement or disability benefits that are based on a person's own earnings.

However, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision can affect spousal benefits, so if you receive a pension based on your earnings from a governmental agency (e.g. federal, state, local) that were exempt from Social Security taxes, then any spousal benefits for which you may otherwise qualify would almost certainly be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of your government pension. GPO can also apply to survivor benefits, by the way.

Neither WEP nor GPO applies until a person actually claims their non-covered pension, though, so if you delay taking your non-covered pension it might allow you to be paid a higher Social Security rate at least temporarily. But, whether or not that would be advantageous depends on a number of different factors.

Your husband wouldn't be affected by WEP or GPO assuming that he didn't have earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes, but since he was born after January 1 1954 he couldn't file for spousal benefits without also being required to file for his own benefits at the same time. Therefore, since your husband's own benefit rate would be much higher than his potential spousal rate, he could never qualify for spousal benefits.

It sounds like you and your husband should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare all of your various options so that you can determine the best possible strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry