I became a legal US resident in 2000, respectively US citizen in 2005. I am eligible now for SS benefits, but I was told I will be a subject of Windfall Elimination Provision for the pension I got in my native country - Bulgaria . Will this pension, when I worked for Bulgarian companies, affect my US SS benefits. After I came in USA I use to work for companies in USA only and got the 40 credits I needed.
Thank you,
George

Hi George,

Yes, it sounds like your U.S. Social Security benefit rate will be affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The WEP provision can cause a person's Social Security retirement or disability benefit rate to be calculated using a less generous formula if they also collect a pension that's based on their earnings that were exempt from U.S. Social Security taxes. And, since you wouldn't have paid U.S. Social Security taxes on your earnings in Bulgaria, any pension based on your work and earnings in that country would likely cause your U.S. benefits to be reduced due to WEP (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf). WEP doesn't apply until you start drawing the non-covered pension, though, so if you aren't already drawing your Bulgarian pension then WEP won't apply at least until you start collecting your Bulgarian pension.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is fully programmed to handle WEP calculations, so you may want to consider using the software to do your Social Security planning.

Best, Jerry