Confused about WEP repeal - Will my delayed retirement credits count with the Social Security WEP correction?
I'm trying to understand how this potential WEP repeal might affect my situation. I worked in the private sector for about 30 years and paid into Social Security fully. Then I switched to a federal government position with a pension for my last 8 years before retiring completely at age 72. I deliberately delayed taking my SS benefits until 72 (well past my FRA of 67) because I knew the WEP would reduce my benefit, and I figured the delayed retirement credits would help offset some of that reduction. Now I'm wondering: If Congress passes this WEP reform, how will my delayed retirement credits be factored in? Will they calculate my new non-WEP-reduced benefit based on my FRA amount and THEN add the 40% increase for delaying 5 years? Or will they just recalculate my base amount without WEP but ignore my delay credits? And what about the bend points they'll use for the recalculation? Will they use the bend points from when I was at FRA or current ones? This is all so confusing and potentially a lot of money difference for me.
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Ava Thompson
im in almost the same boat but i only delayed til 70. been trying to figure this out too. ss office gave me different answer every time i called.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•What kind of answers did you get when you called? Did anyone actually seem to understand the question? I've been hesitant to call because I figured they won't have guidance on something that hasn't passed yet.
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Miguel Ramos
This is a fascinating question and tbh I don't think anyone knows for certain since the legislation hasn't passed yet. But based on how SS calculations work normally, I would EXPECT them to first calculate your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) without the WEP reduction, and THEN apply your delayed retirement credits to that amount. So if your FRA was 67 and you claimed at 72, that's 5 years of delay credits at 8% per year (total 40% increase). If your non-WEP PIA would have been say $2,500, then your corrected benefit should be around $3,500 ($2,500 + 40%). As for bend points, they typically use the bend points from the year you turned 62, not your FRA or when you claimed.
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Zainab Ibrahim
•I don't think that's right about the bend points. SSA should use the bend points from the year you became eligible (age 62), not when you claim. And I'm pretty sure the WEP reform calculations will use those same original bend points, not current ones.
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StarSailor
The recent Social Security Windfall Elimination Program reform proposals generally maintain the same calculation structure for benefits, just with a modified formula. So yes, your delayed retirement credits should still apply. The process would likely be: 1. Recalculate your PIA without WEP reduction 2. Apply delayed retirement credits to that new PIA Regarding bend points - they ALWAYS use the bend points from the year you turned 62, regardless of when you actually claim benefits. But keep in mind nothing is final until legislation actually passes. The final bill could have different provisions.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•Thank you for this clear explanation. That would be amazing if it works that way. So hypothetically if my non-WEP PIA at FRA would have been $2,200, and I delayed 5 years past FRA (40% increase), my new benefit after WEP reform could potentially be around $3,080? That's a substantial difference from what I'm getting now!
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Connor O'Brien
NOBODY at SSA even understands this stuff!!! I worked 22 yrs paying SS then 15 for state govt and my benefit is a JOKE because of WEP! Called SSA 6 times and got 6 different answers about how my benefit was calculated. One rep even told me WEP doesn't exist!! Don't hold your breath waiting for any "reform" - they've been promising that for 20 years!!!!!
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Yara Sabbagh
•I feel your frustration! The whole WEP situation is so unfair. I paid into Social Security for decades too, then just because I have a small pension from teaching, they slash my benefits. And yes, many SSA reps don't seem to understand it well. When I called last year, the rep had to put me on hold multiple times to consult with someone else about my WEP questions.
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Keisha Johnson
Has anyone here tried using Claimyr to reach SSA about complex WEP questions? I was having the same issues getting through to anyone knowledgeable until my neighbor told me about it. I went to claimyr.com and watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU) and decided to try it. Got through to an actual Social Security rep in about 10 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. The rep I spoke with actually knew about WEP calculations and was able to explain exactly how my benefit was reduced. Still didn't have info on the potential reform changes, but at least I understood my current situation better.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•I hadn't heard of this service before. I might give it a try since it sounds like you had a better experience than calling directly. Did they actually put you through to someone in the benefits department who understood the technical aspects, or just a general rep?
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Keisha Johnson
•I got connected to someone in the benefits department. Asked specifically for someone who could explain WEP calculations. The first person transferred me to someone more knowledgeable when I mentioned the specific questions about bend points and calculation methods. Much better than my previous attempts calling directly!
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Zainab Ibrahim
Let me try to provide some clarity here as someone who's studied the WEP extensively: 1. Your delayed retirement credits (DRCs) will absolutely be preserved in any WEP reform. Those are calculated after the WEP reduction is applied to your PIA. 2. The bend points used will be those from the year you turned 62, as others have mentioned. 3. Most reform proposals change how the WEP reduction is calculated, not whether DRCs apply to the resulting benefit amount. What's likely to happen is: - Your original PIA will be recalculated without the WEP reduction - Then your 40% increase for delayed retirement will be applied to that amount So yes, delaying benefits was likely still advantageous in your situation, regardless of WEP reform.
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Ava Thompson
•so if my pia before wep wouldve been 2400 and wep knocked it down to 1800 and then i delayed til 70 to get 1800 + 24% = 2232...with the reform id get the full 2400 + 24% = 2976? thats a huge difference!!
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Yara Sabbagh
I'm really confused about all this WEP talk. I thought WEP only applied to people who didn't pay into Social Security enough quarters? Or is that the other one... GPO? I get them mixed up. My husband worked for the railroad and I know his pension affected something with my benefits but I can never remember which is which...
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StarSailor
•You're confusing WEP and GPO. WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) reduces your OWN Social Security benefit if you worked in jobs where you didn't pay Social Security taxes (like some government or foreign jobs) AND also worked enough in SS-covered jobs to qualify for benefits. GPO (Government Pension Offset) reduces spouse/survivor benefits if you receive a pension from non-covered government work. The railroad retirement system has special coordination with Social Security that works differently from either of these provisions.
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Miguel Ramos
The good news with the WEP reform proposals is that there seems to be bipartisan support for some kind of fix. The bad news is that they've been trying to fix it for years with no success yet. For those wondering about the status, there are currently multiple bills in Congress addressing WEP reform. Some call for full repeal, others for a modified formula that's less punitive. Most include some retroactive payments for those already affected, though likely not full retroactive amounts going back years. I think it's smart that you delayed benefits to age 72 regardless of what happens with WEP reform. That 40% increase for delaying claim from 67 to 72 is substantial and would help offset the WEP reduction even if reform never passes.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•Yes, that was my thinking at the time - that delaying would at least partially offset the WEP reduction. What I didn't anticipate was potentially getting both the full non-WEP amount AND the delayed credits if reform passes. That would be a significant windfall for me and others in similar situations. Do you happen to know which specific bill has the most support currently? I'd like to contact my representatives about it.
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Miguel Ramos
•The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82 in the last Congress) had the most co-sponsors, but there are other bills with different approaches too. The Ways & Means Committee has also discussed compromise solutions. Best approach is to contact your rep and express support for WEP reform generally rather than a specific bill, since the final solution might be a compromise version.
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