dont forget about the one-time death payment from ss too. its only $255 but better than nothing

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I'm going to gather all my documents (death certificate, marriage certificate, pension statements, etc.) and apply for survivor benefits right away. It sounds like even with the GPO reduction, I should still receive a significant portion of my husband's benefit. I'll definitely check out that Claimyr service if I have trouble getting through to Social Security. It's such a relief to know I won't have to rely solely on my small pension.

my uncle had his ss cut because of his state job pension! he was a teacher and didnt pay ss taxes so thats why. sounds like your fine if you paid ss taxes. govmnt rules are so confusing!!!!!

Since your case seems clear (no WEP because you paid Social Security taxes while earning your pension), the only other thing to check is if any portion of your 28 years at the company might have been exempt from Social Security taxes. Some companies switched plans during certain time periods. Might be worth checking your W-2s from those earliest years just to be 100% certain. But it sounds like you're fine!

Just to add my personal experience - my mom retired from teaching after 24 years, but had worked retail for about 12 years before that. Her Social Security benefit was reduced from about $1100 to around $650 per month because of WEP. She was devastated because she'd been counting on having both income streams. The current system really punishes people who switch careers.

Something important that hasn't been mentioned yet: The WEP reduction has a maximum cap. For 2025, the maximum WEP reduction is $578 per month (up from $558 in 2024). Additionally, the reduction cannot be more than half of the pension from non-covered employment. Also, if your brother-in-law had years of "substantial earnings" under Social Security, the WEP reduction is gradually lessened. With 21+ years of substantial earnings, the reduction starts decreasing, and at 30+ years of substantial earnings, WEP doesn't apply at all. Regarding recent legislative proposals, some would phase out WEP entirely while others would replace it with a proportional formula that more fairly represents a person's actual earnings history. The most recent serious movement was in the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act, which would provide relief payments to current retirees affected by WEP and establish a new formula for future retirees.

Everyone's talking about GPO but what about WEP??? My brother-in-law had both government pension and SS and lost almost ALL his SS because of Windfall Elimination Provision! It's so unfair how they calculate these things! They're basically penalizing people TWICE for working government jobs!

Thank you all for the helpful information! I made an appointment at our local SSA office for next month to apply for the spousal benefits. I'll make sure we bring documentation for both pensions. I'm glad to hear the VA disability pension doesn't count toward the GPO - that gives us a better chance of getting something extra. I really appreciate everyone's advice!

To address your initial question about the precise timing: When you submit your application in July 2025, you'll select the month you want benefits to begin (could be July, August, or even retroactive up to 6 months, but not before age 62). Only earnings after your entitlement month count toward the limit. For example, if you choose August 2025 as your start month: - January-July 2025 earnings: Don't count toward limit - August-December 2025 earnings: Count toward a prorated annual limit The 2025 monthly limit is projected to be around $1,860, so your prorated limit for 5 months would be approximately $9,300 as you calculated. Stay under that amount from August-December, and you'll receive full benefits for those months. One more tip: Benefits are paid the month after they're due. So August benefits arrive in September, which sometimes confuses people tracking their earnings.

That's exactly right. The earnings limit is based on when you're entitled to benefits, not when you receive the payment. So if your entitlement starts in August, you start counting August earnings even though you won't see that first payment until September. It might help to think of it this way: you're entitled to August benefits that get paid in September. The earnings limit applies to the entitlement month (August), not the payment month. Another tip from my experience - keep a very detailed record of all your earnings after your benefits start. I created a simple spreadsheet showing my weekly pay and running total to make sure I stayed under the limit. It gave me peace of mind knowing exactly where I stood each month.