Larry, I am 61 (8/16/56) and a high wage earner. Current SS statement has me at 70 receiving a little over $3000 a month but I intent to continue to work till 66 in my current high income job. I then intent to work part time to extend to 70 receiving SS benefits. My Wife is 59 (9/7/59) and has been retired from her 30 plus years of teaching since 2014. She has been receiving full TRS retirement pension since then and we opted for the lifetime payout till we are both dead. My question is if she is eligible to receive either spousal or widowed benefits ( or any other)from my benefits ? We have been told she is ineligible since she is receiving TRS benefits . Thank you and your book is awesome! Pete

Hi Pete,

Your wife wouldn't necessarily be ineligible for spousal or widow's benefits, but assuming that she didn't pay Social Security taxes on her earnings as a teacher any spousal or widow's benefits for which she qualifies would likely be subject to offset by 2/3rds of the amount of her TRS pension. As a result, if your wife's TRS pension amount is at least 1 & 1/2 times as much as her potential Social Security spousal or widow's rate, then her spousal/widow's benefits would likely be reduced to zero. This is due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, by the way (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf).

For the record, though, even if your wife wouldn't be able to collect monthly Social Security benefits she could still likely qualify for at least technical entitlement as a spouse or widow on your record. That would enable her to qualify for premium free Part A of Medicare when she reaches age 65.

You and your wife may want to consider using our maximization software to explore your options and determine your best overall filing strategy. The software is fully programmed to handle GPO considerations.

Best, Jerry