Hi Larry!
I was born in Romania, and worked there for 24 years. I moved to the US, became US citizen and worked for 25 years.
I paid social security taxes on both countries for the corresponding years worked in each country. I'm eligible for pension in Romania, but my concern is that it will reduce my SS benefits in the US. Is this true? All the information I found is confusing to me. Please enlighten me if you can.
Thank you!

Hi,

Yes, if you receive a pension based on your work and earnings on which you did not pay U.S. Social Security taxes, then your Social Security retirement benefit rate could be reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). For more information on WEP, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

Our maximization software is programmed to handle WEP calculations, so you may want to consider using it to determine how much of an effect your Romanian pension could have on your benefit rate.

Best, Jerry