I have been collecting my SS since the age of 65 which was reduced because of the WEP provision. I retired from UCI Medical Center but retained my Orange County Medical Center retirement benefits after UCI purchased the hospital. I worked under that retirement system from 1971 to 1991 and did not pay into SS under that system I was married from 1966 until 1986 until I was divorced. I moved to Arizona and worked mostly part time at another hospital in 1992 until my retirement in 2013. My Social Security from that employment was reduced from the $750.00 I was expecting by nearly 1/2 and after Medicare and a Medicare supplement policy I now collect less than $200.00 per month from Social Security. I just found out that my ex husband passed away. Would the GPO affect my divorced widow benefits as far as you know? I would like to go into the Social Security office to see, but would like to be armed with more knowledge about what to expect there. Thank You for your help.

Hi,

Yes, it certainly sounds like your potential survivor benefits would be subject to Government Pension Offset (GPO). The basic offset rate is 2/3rds of the amount of your government pension, so you may or may not still be able to receive some surviving divorced spousal benefits depending on the full amount of the benefit and the amount of your government pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). When you contact Social Security you'll want to have proof of your marriage and divorce, as well as documentation of the current gross amount of your county pension.

Best, Jerry