Hi Larry
Thank you so much for your work. It's so helpful. I love your book but am rather afraid of when it comes time to take SS because so many people have no idea what they are doing. I already (thanks to your book) saved a colleague from paying for Medicare when he already had work health insurance. He'd been paying for a year and of course will never get that money back. But at least he no longer pays for it right now. Meanwhile, I have an addendum question to Windfall Elimination Provision. My UK pension will be a STATE pension. It is not from employment and is actually from me paying "voluntary contributions from abroad" . Does that mean it does not come under the auspices of pension earned from work. Also I think I have only 16 years of "substantial earnings."

Hi. My expertise doesn't extend to pensions from the United Kingdom, so I'm not familiar with the specific pension type that you mention. What I can tell you is that the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) can only cause a reduction in a person's U.S. Social Security retirement or disability benefit amount if the person receives a pension, or lump sum payment in lieu of a pension, that is based in whole or in part on their earnings that weren't subject to U.S. Social Security taxes.

Therefore, if the U.K. pension that you plan to receive is not based in whole or in part on your work and earnings, then it should not result in a reduction to your U.S. Social Security benefit rate.

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry