Hello,
I will be receiving CPP and OAS from Canada. Before moving to Canada I worked in US for 28 yrs. Normally I would not be eligible for OAS because I have been in Canada for 19 yrs and you need 20 yrs to be eligible for OAS. However, because of the totalization agreement with the US and Canada I can count one of my US years to be eligible for OAS. Because I am using the totalization agreement for OAS but not CPP does WEP sill apply to me? Or, do they only consider CPP eligibility requirements for WEP in which I do not need to use the totalization agreement.
Thanks

Hi. The fact that your OAS pension from Canada is partially based on the U.S./Canadian totalization provision won't exempt you from the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Since OAS pensions are based on Canadian residency as opposed to your earnings, OAS pensions can't cause a WEP reduction to a person's U.S. Social Security benefit rate regardless of whether or not the totalization agreement was involved in the person's OAS eligibility (https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/canada.html#cppqpp).

The only pensions that can cause a WEP reduction are pensions that are based on a person's earnings that were exempt from U.S. Social Security taxes, like the Canadian Pension Program (CPP) or the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). If your eligibility for a CPP pension was dependent in part on your U.S. Social Security credits based on the totalization agreement, then your CPP pension wouldn't cause a WEP reduction. Assuming that your CPP eligibility isn't dependent on the totalzation agreement, then unless you meet one of the other WEP exceptions it's likely that your U.S. Social Security retirement benefit rate will be subject to WEP.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase)is fully programmed to handle benefit computations involving WEP, so you should strongly consider using our software to fully compare and analyze all of your various options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry