Has anyone here actually had success getting through the WEP reduction? My dad just retired from teaching and they cut his SS by almost half and were super nasty about it when he asked questions!!! He worked construction for 15 years before teaching and now they're acting like those years don't count!!!

To answer your original question directly: This is NOT double dipping. The Supreme Court has clearly established that survivor benefits and your own retirement benefits are separate entitlements. GPO may reduce the amount, but you are fully entitled to apply for and receive survivor benefits even while receiving your own retirement benefit. One crucial point I should add - you'll want to specifically request a "survivor benefit calculation with GPO consideration" when you contact SSA. Many representatives don't deal with GPO cases regularly and might give incorrect information if you don't use the specific terminology. If your calculated survivor benefit after GPO ends up higher than your current WEP-reduced benefit, they will pay you the difference.

Thank you all for the informative responses! I've learned so much - especially that I should be thinking about maximizing to age 70, not 72. It sounds like the best approach is for me to wait until 70 since I'm the higher earner, which would maximize my benefit and potentially my husband's survivor benefit if I pass away first. Even though my waiting won't increase his spousal benefit (which I didn't realize), the overall household strategy seems to favor delaying. I'm going to look into working until at least 68 and reassess our savings at that point. The distinction between how spousal vs. survivor benefits work was the missing piece I needed!

One other factor to consider: if your husband has his own substantial work record, his spousal benefit might not even come into play. Spousal benefits are only paid if they're higher than the person's own retirement benefit. If he's been a good earner throughout his career, he might just collect on his own record anyway. Also worth noting - you mentioned saving more. If you're still working, you might consider putting more into retirement accounts rather than focusing solely on the Social Security timing question. Increasing your savings rate for the next few years could have a significant impact too.

My husband's cousin didn't report his extra income and the SSA hit him with a HUGE overpayment notice two years later!!! They wanted ALL the money back at once! Such a nightmare! Don't make that mistake!!

To summarize for you: 1. You can't suspend benefits until FRA (probably 66+some months for you) 2. You'll exceed the earnings limit with your contract ($30k vs ~$21k limit) 3. SSA will withhold about $4,380 from your benefits (probably as 2-3 full months with no payment) 4. You'll still come out financially ahead by taking the contract 5. Report your expected earnings to SSA right away in January 6. When you reach FRA, you'll get credit for the withheld months Good luck with your contract!

Has anyone successfully appealed a GPO reduction? I've heard rumors that if you can prove financial hardship you can get the offset reduced. Is that true or just another SSA myth?

My wife had similar situation and we just gave up trying to figure it out. The whole GPO thing is just so frustrating! Good luck with your situation hope you get something eventually.

my neighbor started SS early and they messed up his payments so bad he had to pay back $12,000!!! be really careful with all this, the rules are super confusing and SS workers give wrong info all the time

To summarize for you: 1. Yes, you can earn the entire annual limit in Jan-Feb 2025 2. You'll likely not receive benefits for those two months due to the monthly earnings test 3. As long as you perform no work from March onward, you should receive full benefits for March-December 4. Make sure to report your work activity through your mySocialSecurity account 5. If you have trouble reaching SSA by phone to verify everything, consider using a service to get through 6. Any benefits withheld aren't permanently lost - they're factored in when you reach FRA Good luck with your retirement plans!