Dear Larry
I was born and raised in the UK, and started paying USA Social Security taxes when I moved to the USA in my late 20's and began working here as a legal alien. Many years later I became a USA citizen.

I am a single (never married) man turning 65 this month. I had 6 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions in the UK before moving to the USA, and would normally need 10 qualifying years to be eligible for a State Pension from the UK. I can however "buy" up to 10 missing years at a favorable price under the terms of the UK pension scheme (the cost would be covered in less than a year of UK pension payments).

I am however concerned about the Windfall Elimination Provision. No USA Social Security taxes were deducted when I worked in the UK, at which time I had no connection to the USA. Would the pension from the UK affect my retirement benefits from the SSA under the provisions of the WIndfall Elimination Provision?

Sincerely

Ben

Hi Ben,

This is a tough one to answer definitively. First off, if you have at least 30 years of 'substantial earnings' (refer to: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf) in the US, you are exempt from the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). If that's the case, any UK pension you receive will have no effect on your SS benefits.

Furthermore, 'totalization' benefits (i.e. foreign pensions based on both US and foreign work credits) are exempt from WEP. Based on your circumstances and my understanding of the UK pension system, I would think you would qualify for a UK totalization benefit. The US has an agreement with the UK permitting the UK to credit your work in the US for UK basic pension eligibility. Such a pension, based on credits from both countries, would not result in a WEP reduction.

Therefore, I would think you could qualify for the UK pension on the basis of credits under the existing agreement with the US, and without necessitating additional contributions on your part. If, on the other hand, you qualify for a separate UK pension based not based on the totalization agreement with the US, then that pension would likely result in a WEP reduction. I found nothing in the Social Security operations manual that addresses the possibility of making voluntary contributions in order to qualify a basic UK pension, so I'm unable to give you a more definitive answer.

Best, Jerry