Can I get Social Security ex-spouse benefits with PERS pension after being denied due to WEP?

the answer is it depends. WEP affects your own benefis. But GPO (Government Pension Offset) is what affects spousal benefits. GPO reduces ex-spouse benefits by 2/3 of your PERS pension. do you know if they applied GPO or WEP to your case?

I worked for the Post Office for 22 years and ran into similar issues with my government pension. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) is what affects ex-spouse benefits when you have a government pension like PERS. The rule reduces your Social Security spousal/ex-spousal benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. For example, if your monthly PERS pension is $1,500, then $1,000 (2/3 of $1,500) would be deducted from any Social Security ex-spouse benefit you might be eligible for. If your ex's record would give you $800 in ex-spouse benefits, you'd get $0 because the GPO reduction exceeds the benefit amount. The reduction is permanent, unfortunately. However, it would be worth contacting SSA to get a recalculation since benefit amounts may have changed over the years with cost-of-living adjustments. If your ex's benefit has increased substantially, or if there were any calculation errors the first time, you might be eligible for a small amount now.

CHECK FOR CALCULATION ERRORS!!! My mother-in-law was in almost THE EXACT SAME SITUATION with a teacher's pension and ex-spouse benefits. They denied her TWICE because of GPO but when she went back a third time they found they had used the WRONG CALCULATION for her government pension!!! She ended up getting about $450 a month plus almost $10,000 in back pay for their mistake!!! DONT GIVE UP!

As others have mentioned, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) is what affects ex-spouse benefits when you have a government pension not covered by Social Security. Here are a few important points to consider: 1. The age of you and your ex-spouse doesn't change the GPO calculation. The 2/3 reduction is permanent and doesn't change at 70. 2. However, it's absolutely worth requesting a recalculation for these reasons: - Your ex's benefit may have increased with COLAs since 2012 - If your ex delayed benefits past full retirement age, his benefit amount would be higher - The original calculation could have contained errors - Your PERS pension amount might have changed 3. In some rare cases, if you have additional work history under Social Security since your initial application, that could affect the calculation. Contact your local Social Security office for a recalculation. Bring documentation showing your current PERS pension amount and any information you have about your ex-spouse's Social Security benefit.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my mom was in this EXACT situation with her California PERS pension and she never got a penny from my dad's Social Security even though they were married for 32 years. GPO is brutal and politicians don't seem to care about fixing it. They call it a "loophole" but it's really just punishment for choosing a public service career.

I had a similar issue with WEP/GPO and found that getting through to an actual knowledgeable person at Social Security made all the difference. After weeks of trying to call and getting nowhere, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a SSA agent within 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with found that my GPO calculation needed to be adjusted based on some part-time work I had done under Social Security. I ended up qualifying for a small monthly benefit I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Definitely worth checking if there's been any change in your situation since 2012.

my neigbor got ex spouse benefits even with a government pension but only because his ex made ALOT of money and had huge ss benefit. depends on the numbers in your case

One more thing to consider - you mentioned you didn't have enough credits for your own Social Security benefit. However, if you've worked any jobs covered by Social Security since your initial application (even part-time), you might be closer to qualifying for your own benefit. It takes 40 credits (about 10 years of work) to qualify for retirement benefits on your own record, and those benefits wouldn't be subject to GPO (though they could be reduced by WEP). Even a small benefit on your own record might be better than nothing if the GPO eliminates your ex-spouse benefit entirely.