Can retired teacher collect deceased husband's full Social Security benefits with WEP?
My best friend just lost her husband last month after 19 years of marriage. She's devastated, and I'm trying to help her understand her benefits situation. She was a public school teacher for 15 years and receives a pension from that. Her husband worked in the private sector his whole life and had much higher Social Security earnings than she did. She's currently 67 and already retired, but now wondering if she can claim his full Social Security survivor benefits? Someone mentioned the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) might reduce what she can get because of her teacher's pension. Does the WEP affect survivor benefits too? I'm confused about whether she'll get his full amount or if it gets reduced because of her pension. Any help would be so appreciated - she's still processing her grief and I want to give her accurate information.
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Mohammad Khaled
sorry for your friedns loss. my cousin was a teacher too with pension and she got hit with GPO not WEP when her husband passed. I think it reduces her SS by like 2/3 of her pension? I remember she was shocked how little she got.
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you. What's GPO? Is that different from WEP? This is all so confusing!
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Alina Rosenthal
Your friend is actually dealing with the Government Pension Offset (GPO), not the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). They're often confused, but affect different benefits: - WEP reduces your OWN Social Security benefits if you have a pension from non-covered employment - GPO reduces SPOUSAL or SURVIVOR benefits if you have a government pension As a teacher with a pension from work not covered by Social Security, her survivor benefits will likely be reduced by 2/3 of her teacher's pension amount. For example, if her monthly teacher pension is $3,000, then $2,000 (2/3 of that) would be deducted from her survivor benefit. So if her husband's Social Security benefit was $2,800, she would only receive $800 after the GPO reduction ($2,800 - $2,000 = $800). She should contact SSA directly to get an accurate calculation based on her specific situation.
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Finnegan Gunn
•OMG this is SO unfair! My mom was a teacher for 35 years and when my dad died she barely got anything from his Social Security even though he paid in his whole life!!! They take 2/3 of her pension away from what she should get from dad. The system is totally rigged against teachers and government workers.
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Fiona Sand
Thank you for explaining the difference between WEP and GPO. I've been mixing them up. Her teacher's pension is about $2,700/month, and her husband was getting around $3,200 in Social Security. So if I understand correctly, they'll subtract $1,800 (2/3 of $2,700) from the $3,200, leaving her with $1,400 in survivor benefits? That's a lot less than she was hoping for. She was counting on having his full benefit.
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Alina Rosenthal
•Yes, your calculation looks correct based on the numbers you provided. She'll likely receive about $1,400 in survivor benefits after the GPO reduction, plus she'll continue getting her teacher's pension of $2,700. So her total monthly income would be around $4,100. She should definitely contact SSA directly to confirm. Sometimes there are exceptions to the GPO rules depending on specific circumstances.
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Miguel Harvey
Just wanted to say your friend should apply for survivor benefits ASAP! Even with the GPO reduction, she shouldn't leave any money on the table. Also, did her husband have any life insurance? That's separate from Social Security and wouldn't be affected by her pension.
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Fiona Sand
•That's a good point about applying quickly. Yes, thankfully he had a small life insurance policy through his employer, but it's not enough for long-term. I'll encourage her to get the survivor benefits application started right away.
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Finnegan Gunn
The GPO is so horribly unfair to teachers and public servants! It's basically stealing money that their spouses earned. I don't understand why Congress doesn't fix this! They've been trying to repeal it for years but never get anywhere. It's shameful how they treat the people who educate our kids. Your friend should write to her representatives and join the fight to end the GPO penalty!
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Ashley Simian
•While I sympathize with the frustration about GPO, it's important to understand why it exists. Without GPO, government employees with pensions would be treated more favorably than dual-income couples who both paid into Social Security their entire careers. The GPO attempts to create parity between these situations. That said, there are legitimate arguments about whether the current 2/3 reduction is calibrated correctly.
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Oliver Cheng
when my brother died my sister in law had to go to the SS office in person with his death certificate to apply for survivor benefits, they wouldn't let her do it online. and the earliest appointment was 6 weeks out! i think they're still backed up from covid.
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Taylor To
•I had a similar experience trying to reach Social Security when my spouse passed. After getting disconnected multiple times, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes. I was pretty skeptical but it worked just like they showed in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Saved me weeks of frustration and I was able to start the survivor benefits process much sooner. Might be worth looking into for your friend since these matters are time-sensitive after a loss.
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Mohammad Khaled
Oh and tell your friend to be sure to bring ALL her documents to the SS appointment - death certificate, marriage certificate, her ID, his social security number, her social secutity card, and proof of her pension too. they need everything and if u forget something they make u come back again ask me how i know lol
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you for the checklist! I'll make sure she has everything before her appointment. She needs to find their marriage certificate - it's packed away somewhere after they moved a few years ago.
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Ashley Simian
A few important clarifications about the GPO that might help your friend: 1. The GPO only applies to government pensions from employment NOT covered by Social Security. If her teaching position was in a state where teachers pay into Social Security, the GPO wouldn't apply. 2. There's an exception to GPO if she paid into Social Security for the last 60 months of government employment before retirement. 3. Some states (like Texas) offer ways to legally reduce GPO impact by working your last 5 years in a position covered by both the pension system and Social Security. 4. Your friend should request a formal calculation from SSA - don't rely on generalized calculations for something this important. 5. The GPO calculation is based on her gross pension amount before any deductions for health insurance, taxes, etc.
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Fiona Sand
•Unfortunately, she taught in Illinois where teachers don't pay into Social Security. She didn't know about that 60-month exception before retiring - wish she had! Thank you for suggesting she get a formal calculation from SSA. I'll help her schedule an appointment.
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Mohammad Khaled
just wanted to say ur a good friend for helping her through this. when my husband died i couldn't think straight for months and would have missed out on benefits if my daughter hadn't helped me figure it all out
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you for saying that. I'm trying my best to help her navigate all this while she's grieving. It's overwhelming how many financial things need to be handled right after losing someone.
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