One additional point regarding your situation: while those zero years won't be replaced with your ex-spouse's earnings, there is a "caregiver credit" proposal that's been discussed in Congress for several years. It would provide earnings credits for people who leave the workforce to care for children or elderly family members. It hasn't passed yet, but if you're interested in advocacy on this issue, organizations like the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare are working on it. In the meantime, maximize your earnings for the remaining years of your career to replace as many zero years as possible in your benefit calculation.

Just to add to what others have said - when calculating your benefit, Social Security uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. The 'indexed' part is important because it adjusts your past earnings to account for wage inflation over time. So while those 10 years do count as zeros, if you're working now, even part-time jobs could potentially replace some of those zeros in your calculation. Also, when you apply for benefits, SSA will automatically calculate whether a spousal benefit based on your current husband's record would give you a higher monthly payment than your own record. You'll receive whichever is higher - they do this calculation automatically.

I remember reading somewhere that if you take a lump sum instead of monthly pension payments, the SSA has to calculate what your monthly payment would have been and then apply GPO to that amount. Might be worth asking your pension administrator if there's any way to structure the lump sum that minimizes this impact. Also, make sure to get everything documented really well before you contact SSA.

wait why are u taking survivors benefits if ur working? doesn't that mean ur husband passed? sorry if thats too personal just confused

I think I'm confused about something - isn't the Fairness Act different from the WEP/GPO repeal? My brother-in-law was talking about some social security fairness bill that had to do with caretakers getting credits or something like that. Are we talking about the same legislation??

Thanks everyone for the information. Sounds like I shouldn't count on this passing anytime soon, though I'll keep hoping. In the meantime, does anyone know if there are any strategies to minimize the WEP impact? I've heard something about getting to 30 years of substantial earnings can reduce the WEP penalty. I have 18 years now - would it be worth trying to work part-time somewhere to get to 30 years?

my sister had the same problem and she just let them withhold the payments to recoup the overage then everything went back to normal. she didn't want the hassle of withdrawing and reapplying. less paperwork.

To clarify something important about the Adjustment to the Reduction Factor that was mentioned: This only applies if your husband started receiving benefits BEFORE his FRA. Since he started at 66 (which is before his FRA of 66+8 months for someone born in 1958), any months where benefits are completely withheld due to earnings will be credited back to him after he reaches FRA. SSA will automatically recalculate and slightly increase his monthly benefit to account for those months where he received no payment. This is why running the exact calculations is so important - withdrawing and reapplying later means repaying benefits now, but getting a higher amount later. Letting SSA withhold benefits means keeping what he's already received, getting a slightly increased amount later, but still having taken benefits early with some permanent reduction.

To answer your question about applying right away: Yes, you should definitely apply for survivor benefits as soon as possible. Benefits can be paid retroactively for up to six months, but no further back than that, so delays in applying could result in lost benefits. While the GPO will reduce the amount, receiving even a reduced benefit is better than nothing. Also, the application process will give you a definitive calculation of exactly how the GPO affects your specific situation. When you apply, bring documentation of both your husband's death and your marriage, as well as information about your pension. They'll need to know the exact amount of your government pension to calculate the offset correctly.

sorry about your husband passing. my neighbor had almost the same situation with her county job and she said she still got the $255 death benefit at least. not much but better than nothing i guess