Does pension count as income for Social Security survivors benefits or ex-spouse benefits?

The pension itself doesn't count toward the earnings limit for Social Security, but it does matter for different reasons. Your situation involves two different rules: 1. For survivor benefits: The Government Pension Offset (GPO) will likely reduce your survivor benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. So if your pension is $3,250/month, your survivor benefit would be reduced by about $2,167/month. 2. For ex-spouse benefits: The same GPO rules apply here too - any spousal or ex-spousal benefits would be reduced by 2/3 of your pension. The earnings limit you're thinking of only applies to wages or self-employment income before you reach full retirement age, not to pension income.

pension doesnt count for earning limit but watch out for the gpo thing the other person said. my mom got hit with that and barely got anything from dad's ss when he died because of her teacher pension. really messed up her plans

Your pension won't count toward the annual earnings limit, but since it's from a government job where you didn't pay Social Security taxes, you're going to face both potential WEP and GPO issues. WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) will likely reduce any retirement benefit based on your own Social Security record. GPO (Government Pension Offset) will reduce any survivor benefits or spousal benefits by 2/3 of your government pension. You should definitely schedule an appointment with SSA to go over your specific situation before making any decisions. These offset provisions can dramatically change what you'll actually receive.

I was in a similar situation with my state pension and wanting to claim on my late husband's record. Let me tell you - trying to get accurate information from SSA was IMPOSSIBLE. I spent months calling, getting disconnected, and receiving conflicting information. Finally someone told me about Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual SSA agent within 20 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with was able to run calculations showing exactly how GPO would affect my survivor benefits with my specific pension amount. Turns out I was still eligible for about $450/month in survivor benefits even after the reduction, which I wouldn't have known without getting the exact calculation.

my friend just went thru this! the pension only matters for the WEP/GPO stuff not the earnings limit. the earnings limit is only for actual work income like if u have a job or business. but ya the GPO will probably wipe out most of ur survivor benefits sadly

I had to figure all this out last year. Soooo confusing! What no one tells you is that you should look at your PRIMARY INSURANCE AMOUNT on your own record versus what you'd get as a survivor after the GPO reduction. For me, my own benefit was actually higher even after WEP reduced it! The only way to know for sure is to ask SSA to run both calculations.

To address your follow-up question: Yes, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) would likely affect your own retirement benefits based on your SS-covered work. However, since you mentioned working 15 years in jobs that paid into Social Security, you might qualify for the "substantial earnings" exception that reduces the WEP penalty. The formula is complex, but the good news is that having 20+ years of "substantial earnings" under Social Security can significantly reduce the WEP reduction, and having 30+ years eliminates it entirely. Your best approach is to: 1. Create a my.ssa.gov account if you haven't already 2. Download your complete earnings record 3. Schedule a consultation with SSA to calculate your potential benefits under all scenarios (own record with WEP, survivor benefits with GPO, ex-spouse benefits with GPO) 4. Compare these options to determine the best filing strategy The timing of when you claim each type of benefit can make a significant difference in your lifetime total.

Just wondering did ur government job let u pay into medicare? Sometimes people with government pensions still have to figure out medicare separately which is another headache