Hi Larry,
My spouse is affected by WEP as a retired teacher, and we're trying to find the right claiming strategy. I'm not confident my research from the recommended websites and the GWY book is yielding the optimum approach.
Me - retired with non WEP affected pension - planning to claim SS next year for a DEC 2020 70th birthday - excellent health with family longevity history. I have the greater earnings history and benefit estimates.
Spouse - retired with WEP affected pension - just turned 66 in Sep 2019 - several health issues. SSA WEP calculator shows the max WEP affect (50%) with a monthly pay out of only $185.
These are the options I considered:
1. Claim $185/month now due to health considerations.
2. Wait four years until her 70th birthday to maximize claim. Monthly estimate rises only to $245/ month.
3. Have spouse file spousal claim on my earnings. This is where my confusion resides. My "unclear" research indicates spousal WEP reduction would not apply to my spouse's benefit on my unaffected earnings since I am not subject to WEP? (The opposite situation is covered extensively in the various help sites, where the spousal benefit is affected because the benefit is based on a WEP affected benefit.
If this is a viable strategy I would still wait until my 70th birthday, because I understand my spouse cannot claim spousal benefits until I claim.
Even if her WEP affects her spousal benefit - it still make sense because 50% (spousal benefit) and 50% (WEP hit) would yield $900/month.
If her WEP somehow affects my projected benefit $3600/month - this plan is a non-starter. I want to be absolutely sure before I contact SSA based on your reporting of claim mishandling at SSA.
Thanking you in advance for your assistance, RC
Hi RC,
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) only affects Social Security retirement and disability benefits, not spousal or survivor benefits. But, it sounds like any spousal benefits that your wife might qualify for would be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of her teacher's pension due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). You don't mention how much your wife's teacher's pension is, though, so I don't know whether or not her spousal benefits would be offset to zero or if she could still be due some spousal benefits after offset.
If your wife would be eligible for at least some spousal benefits after GPO, then it would almost certainly be best for her to claim her own Social Security retirement benefits now at her full retirement age (FRA). However, if her spousal benefits would be fully offset then an argument could be made for waiting until age 70 to claim her Social Security retirement benefits, unless her health problems are likely to substantially shorten her lifespan.
Another consideration that may support the case for your wife filing now at FRA would be that you could then file for spousal benefits on your wife's account and draw those benefits until switching to your own record at age 70. Your spousal benefit wouldn't amount to much (i.e. 50% of your wife's WEP reduced primary insurance amount), but even a small amount is better than nothing.
Your wife's teacher's pension and the fact that her Social Security benefits will likely be reduced due to WEP and GPO will have no bearing on your Social Security retirement benefit rate. So, if your age 70 rate will be roughly $3600 you can draw that regardless of anything that your wife receives.
You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare your options so that you can decide which filing strategy would likely work out best in your case.
Best, Jerry
