Wife is Canadian and worked as a teacher in Canada for 10yrs. All numbers I have found says she qualifies for $80 a month in CPP and $500 a month from Ontario Teacher Pension. I am American and worked in Canada for 15 years and based on research should get $625 a month from CPP.

We have been back in the US for 15 years and I will qualify for max SS at full retirement of around $3100 a month. Wife did not work in the US. So she would only collect spousal at 50% once I retire.

Now to the question, are there any clawbacks to CPP or SS based on the other or can we collect all I stated above?

Hi. My expertise is limited to U.S. Social Security benefits, so I can't tell you anything about your pensions from Canada. As for your Social Security benefits in the U.S., the only possible issue would be the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP can cause a person's U.S. Social Security retirement benefit rate to be reduced if they also receive a pension based on their earnings that were exempt from U.S. Social Security taxes. So, unless you meet one of the exceptions to WEP, it sounds like your Canadian pension will cause your U.S. Social Security benefit to be calculated using the less generous WEP formula. The WEP exceptions are explained in the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

Your wife could get up to 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA), but only if she doesn't start drawing spousal benefits until she is at least full retirement age (FRA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA). If your wife starts drawing her benefits before FRA, her benefit rate will be reduced for age. Your wife's pensions from Canada won't adversely affect her spousal benefit from the U.S., but if your PIA is reduced due to WEP then that will also lower your wife's spousal amount.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is fully programmed to handle benefit calculations involving WEP, so you may want to use the software to fully analyze your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry