Just discovered craziness in WEP and GPO. It's bad enough that it's there, but it's slightly worse than I thought. Did you know that WEP and GPO use a different actuarial values for converting a lump sum payment to a monthly payment amount?

Just crazy - I was trying to figure out why when my wife filed for spousal benefit (when I started my SS) the GPO offset was higher than I was calculating. It turns out and age 66 lump sum paid in 2022 uses 174.6 as the divisor to calculate WEP monthly pension amount BUT the GPO monthly pension amount uses 140.1 as the divisor.

That's just wrong!

Since her lump sum was relatively small, it's only a extra $20 reduction of spousal benefit, but actuarial values of the POMS GN 02608.400 for GPO (effective 6/21/2016 to present) should be updated to the POMS RS 00605.364 for WEP (effective 11/12/2020).

Hi. Yes, we're aware of the discrepant actuarial charts listed in the Social Security operations manual sections that you cite in your question. However, we don't know whether or not the discrepant charts are intentional. Given the unexplained discrepancy, anyone whose benefits are reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or Government Pension Offset (GPO) that is based on a lump sum proration may want to consider filing an appeal if they believe that their benefit rate has been miscalculated.

Best, Jerry