How to see what my Social Security benefit would be without WEP/GPO reduction?

Yes, you can get this information! Call SSA and specifically request a "WEP Computation" breakdown. This document will show you your benefit amount both with and without the WEP reduction applied. You can also ask them for your "Pre-WEP PIA" (Primary Insurance Amount) and your "Post-WEP PIA" to see the difference. The reduction is based on your years of "substantial earnings" in Social Security covered employment. With 22 years in the private sector, you might not be subject to the full WEP reduction, which can be up to $647 in 2025 for those with fewer years of substantial earnings.

same thing hapend to me last year!! nobody tells you about this WEP stuff until its to late. my check was almost $500 less than what the ssa website calculator said it would be. total shock when i got my first payment

Unfortunately, your MySocialSecurity account won't show the WEP calculation breakdown. The SSA system is surprisingly non-transparent about this. You need to specifically request a WEP computation statement by calling them or visiting an office. Since you worked 22 years in covered employment with "substantial earnings" (which means earning above a certain threshold each year), your WEP reduction should be somewhat mitigated. The full WEP reduction applies to those with 20 or fewer years of substantial earnings, but it's reduced by 5% for each year above 20. With 22 years, your reduction should be 90% of the maximum WEP reduction. If you're planning to call again, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they'll call SSA for you and connect you once an agent is on the line. Saved me hours of waiting when I needed to sort out my own WEP issues. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

Social Security is required to notify you about potential WEP/GPO impact in your benefit estimate letters, but most people miss that fine print. It's usually just a vague warning paragraph buried in the paperwork. I was in a similar situation (25 private/12 state government). I requested a detailed WEP calculation in person at my local office. They printed out a document showing: 1. My original PIA calculation (what I would get without WEP) 2. The WEP reduction amount 3. My final benefit amount after WEP With 22 years of substantial earnings, your reduction should be less than the maximum. The WEP reduction decreases by 5% for each year of substantial earnings over 20, and disappears completely at 30 years of substantial earnings. If some of your 22 private sector years didn't meet the "substantial earnings" threshold for those years, they might not count toward reducing the WEP penalty. That could explain a larger reduction than expected.

quick question does this WEP stuff affect spousal benefits too? my wife never worked for the government but im retiring from fire department next year

Man, don't get me STARTED on WEP and GPO!!! I lost almost 40% of my expected SS benefit because of my teacher's pension. 27 years teaching in Ohio and they PUNISH me for it! These provisions are UNFAIR and CRUEL to public servants. There's been bills in Congress for years to repeal them but they never pass. Call your representatives!!! The Social Security Fairness Act would fix this problem but they keep ignoring us.

has anyone tryed that claimyr thing? does it realy work? i need to call ss again but cant sit on hold all day im still working

I'm so confused about all this. Is WEP the same as GPO? My husband has a pension from his county job but I worked regular jobs all my life. Will my SS be reduced too? Sorry if this is a dumb question, just trying to figure this all out before we retire next year.

To answer your original question more specifically, here's how to see what your benefit would be without WEP: 1. Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local office 2. Request a "Detailed Earnings Query" and a "WEP Computation" 3. The WEP Computation will show your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) both before and after the WEP reduction 4. Ask them to explain which years counted as "substantial earnings" toward reducing your WEP penalty With 22 years of substantial earnings in Social Security-covered employment, your WEP reduction should be 90% of the maximum reduction (which is $647 in 2025). So instead of losing $647, you would lose about $582 per month. However, if some of those 22 years didn't meet the substantial earnings threshold for their respective years, the calculation would be different.