This whole WEP/GPO system is COMPLETELY UNFAIR!!! My husband and I both worked our entire lives, but because he was a public servant (police officer), he gets PENALIZED?? We should be storming Congress over this garbage. They've been promising to reform these ridiculous penalties for DECADES but nothing ever happens. My friend's husband was a teacher who lost thousands in benefits because of this. Meanwhile politicians get their full pensions AND Social Security with no penalties! Make it make sense!!!

Social Security specialist here. There's some confusion in some of these responses. Let me clarify: 1. WEP affects your own retirement benefits if you have a pension from non-covered work. 2. GPO affects spousal or survivor benefits if you have a pension from non-covered work. In your case, since your husband has a teacher's pension from work not covered by Social Security AND only has 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, he: - Already sees his own SS retirement benefit reduced by WEP - Would likely have any survivor benefits from your record reduced by GPO The GPO reduction is 2/3 of his gross monthly pension. So if his teacher's pension is $3,200, the GPO reduction would be about $2,133. If your SS benefit is $2,650, after the GPO reduction, he would receive about $517 in survivor benefits. Here's the official SSA fact sheet on GPO: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf

I had a similar experience when applying for my survivors benefits after my husband passed. I was initially quoted $1,932, but when I received my first payment, it was actually $1,897. When I called, they explained there had been a miscalculation in the initial quote. I strongly recommend asking for the calculation breakdown in writing. Ask them to explain: 1. What your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) was 2. What percentage reduction is being applied for your age 3. What the final calculated amount is Also, make sure to get the name of each representative you speak with. I learned this the hard way when I needed to reference a previous conversation and couldn't provide the agent's name.

have u checked ur mysocialsecurity acct online? sometimes u can see benefit estimates there

wait i thought there WAS an earnings limit even after FRA???? my uncle had his benefits reduced last year and hes 70!!!

One more thing to be aware of: even though there's no benefit REDUCTION after FRA, your higher earnings might make your Social Security benefits TAXABLE. Up to 85% of your benefits can be subject to income tax depending on your combined income. This doesn't reduce what SS pays you, but it does affect your overall tax situation. Just something to keep in mind for tax planning purposes!

Just to add some clarification here: The percentages available for federal tax withholding from Social Security benefits are specific options set by the IRS: 7%, 10%, 12%, and 22% as of 2025. You cannot choose any other percentage. The SSA processes these requests, but they're bound by IRS rules. And yes, this still requires a paper Form W-4V submission - it cannot be done online or by phone. The SSA has been talking about modernizing this process for years, but it remains paper-based for now. Budget wisely while waiting for the withholding change to take effect, as it typically takes 1-2 months to be reflected in your benefits.

My aunt had this same problem last year and ended up paying a big penalty because her withholding was too low. She said going to the SSA office was actually faster than mailing the form. But she went right when they opened in the morning to avoid the long wait times.

btw if your kids are getting survivors benefits make sure you keep that money separate from your own!! my sister got in trouble for using her kids survivor money to pay household bills. ssa says that money is only for the kids expenses.

To address your specific questions: 1. Yes, earnings from employment can affect survivor benefits, regardless of age. However, the 2025 annual earnings limit is $23,400, which a 16-year-old working part-time is unlikely to exceed. 2. If your son's benefits are reduced due to his earnings, that money is NOT redistributed to your other children. Each child's benefit is calculated independently based on the deceased parent's record. 3. You should report significant changes in earnings to SSA. For a teenager with a part-time job, you can typically report this at your annual review or if you anticipate earnings approaching the limit. 4. As mentioned by another commenter, be aware of the monthly earnings limit too (approximately $1,950 for 2025). Summer jobs with full-time hours could potentially trigger this even if annual earnings remain below the yearly limit. Encouraging your son to work is generally positive for his development, and at typical part-time teenage wages, the impact on benefits should be minimal or none.

One more thing to consider - when you die (sorry to be morbid), your wife will receive the higher of her own benefit or your benefit as a survivor benefit. So increasing your benefit through delayed retirement credits would give her a higher survivor benefit for her lifetime. This is why financial advisors often recommend the higher-earning spouse delay as long as possible, especially if the wife is younger or expected to outlive the husband (statistically common).

Thank you all for the helpful responses. I really appreciate the different perspectives. I'm going to try calling SSA to discuss our specific numbers, and I'll use that Claimyr service since regular calls haven't worked. Based on your comments, I'm leaning toward not suspending since we do need the current income, but I'll run all the calculations first, especially considering the survivor benefit aspect. This forum has been incredibly helpful!

wait i just thought of something else - if ur brother ever gets remarried after 60 it wont affect any of his ss benefits. my uncle got remarried at 72 and was worried but the SSA said it dont matter after age 60!!

One more thing to consider - if your brother hasn't already, he should make sure the Social Security Administration knows about his wife's passing. Sometimes there can be issues if they aren't properly notified. Also, if he's struggling financially, he might want to check if he qualifies for any other programs like Medicare Savings Programs or Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs. These aren't related to survivor benefits but could help with his overall financial situation.

SSA counts ur earnings up to the year before u file benefits i think. my uncle just went thru this whole mess and SSA told him something different every time he called lol

Thank you all for the helpful responses! Based on what everyone has shared, my plan is to: 1. Apply in January 2026 as originally planned 2. Bring my final 2025 paystubs to the SSA appointment as proof of my earnings 3. File my 2025 taxes as early as possible in 2026 4. Keep documentation of everything in case I need to follow up It sounds like the system should work automatically to include my 2025 earnings, but it's good to be prepared with documentation just in case. I appreciate all the advice!

WAIT are you sure your state isn't one of those weird ones with mandatory pension contributions even if ur still working??? my coworker in Ohio thought same thing but turns out money was going into account even before full retirement!! check ur paystub for pension deductions!!!

For anyone hitting this thread with a similar issue - this is a perfect example of why it helps to file for Social Security benefits several months before you actually need them. These bureaucratic issues can take weeks or months to resolve, and you don't want to miss payments while waiting. The WEP/GPO provisions affect hundreds of thousands of public employees and the rules are exceptionally complex.

To answer your question about whether you can still qualify for SSDI despite the work gap: If you can prove your disability began before your work credits expired, you may still qualify. This is called a "remote date last insured" or "RDLI" case. You would need to provide medical evidence showing your conditions were disabling before your Date Last Insured (DLI). Since you mentioned ongoing health problems since 2008, this might be possible if properly documented. However, proving a disability from many years ago is challenging. You'd need medical records from that period showing your conditions met SSA's disability criteria. This is definitely a situation where a disability attorney's expertise would be valuable. Regardless, applying now creates a record of your claim and preserves potential retroactive benefits if approved.

My sister went thru this last year with her disability claim. The most important thing is to be super detailed about how your conditions affect your daily life. Don't just list diagnoses - explain exactly what you can't do anymore. Like instead of saying "I have back pain" say "I can't sit for more than 20 minutes without severe pain" or "I need to lie down 3-4 times a day for an hour" etc. That's what finally got her approved.