I am a dual citizen who worked in both usa (30 yr+) and canada (10+ yrs). I am 64 years old and live in canada now. I receive USA SSDI now (10years approx) due to multiple sclerosis MS. I worked enough years to qualify for CPP but am wondering about dual country disability benefits.can a person receive SSDI and CPP Disability benefits? Would my USA SSDI be lowered if i qualified with enough work years for CPP Disability in Canada? What about a SSDI and CPP(not CPP Disability )? What is my best option to maximize benefits?

Hi. My expertise is limited to U.S. Social Security benefits, so I can't tell you any advice with regard to CPP pensions. What I can tell you is that unless you meet one of the exceptions to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), your U.S. Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits would be subject to a reduction when and if you claim CPP benefits. The WEP provision and it's exceptions are explained in the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

The WEP can cause a person's U.S. Social Security disability or retirement benefits to be calculated using a less generous benefit computation formula if they are also collecting a pension that's based on their work and earnings that were exempt from U.S. Social Security taxes. So, assuming that your CPP pension is based on your work and earnings in Canada, then when you start collecting a CPP pension it may cause your U.S. SSDI benefits to be recalculated using the less generous computation formula. Any WEP reduction applicable to your SSDI benefits would also apply to your U.S. Social Security retirement benefit rate when your SSDI benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits when you reach your full retirement age (FRA).

However, there is a WEP guarantee provision that limits the amount of reduction that can be applied to a person's U.S. benefits to no more than roughly one-half of the amount of the non-covered pension. Therefore, even if your CPP pension would cause your U.S. benefit rate to be lowered, you should still end up with more total benefits if you claim any CPP pension for which you're eligible than you would if you don't claim those benefits.

Best, Jerry