Confused about WEP calculator - enter current pension amount or original amount when first retired?

You need to enter your CURRENT pension amount. The WEP reduction is calculated based on what you're receiving now, not what you started with 12 years ago. The formula looks at your substantial earnings years under Social Security and your current non-covered pension amount to determine the reduction. Just make sure you're entering the monthly amount, not annual.

Actually, this is a common misunderstanding. For WEP purposes, you need to use the INITIAL pension amount you received when you first began receiving your non-covered pension. The SSA doesn't consider post-retirement COLA increases when calculating the WEP reduction. This is covered in their POMS section GN 00307.290. If you enter your current inflated amount, your WEP reduction will be calculated incorrectly.

my brother went thru this last yr... hes a retired cop with pension. he said they asked for the ORIGINAL amount not the current one with all the colas. he had to dig up his old pension award letter to find the original #s

The whole WEP situation is RIDICULOUS!!! I worked 22 years in the private sector paying into SS, then 18 years for state govt with pension. Now they PENALIZE me for having a pension by reducing my SS by almost 40%!!! It's THEFT of benefits we EARNED!! And they make the calculations confusing ON PURPOSE so we can't figure out what we're actually entitled to. I've called SSA six times and gotten SIX DIFFERENT ANSWERS about my WEP reduction. The system is BROKEN!!!

I was so confused about this too when I first had to deal with WEP last year. The language on the SSA website isn't very clear at all.

If you're tired of getting different answers every time you call SSA about your WEP calculation, you might want to try Claimyr. I was going crazy trying to get accurate information about my WEP reduction and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Claimyr got me through to an actual SSA representative in about 20 minutes. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Definitely worth it for complicated issues like WEP where you need to speak with someone who actually knows the rules.

To be extra clear about the WEP calculation: The law says they use the "monthly periodic payment which the individual first became entitled to receive" (not subsequent increases). You can find this in Section 215(a)(7) of the Social Security Act. If you have your initial pension award letter, that's your best documentation. Also, don't forget that WEP impact is reduced if you have 21+ years of substantial earnings under Social Security, and eliminated completely with 30+ years.

One additional tip: if you're using the WEP calculator on the SSA website, after you enter your initial pension amount, make sure you also check if any of the WEP exceptions apply to you. There are several situations where WEP might not apply or might be calculated differently, such as if you were eligible for your pension before 1986 or if you have federal employment covered under CSRS Offset. The calculator might not account for these exceptions automatically.