Should I take Social Security at 64 with WEP penalty or wait until FRA? Spouse benefits not an option

The WEP situation definitely complicates things! I've been through this exact scenario, and here's what you need to consider: 1. Break-even point: With those benefit amounts, it would take approximately 11-12 years from age 67 to make up the difference between taking it early vs waiting. So if you live past 78-79, waiting would be better financially. 2. Life expectancy: Despite your mother's history, women on average live into their 80s. If you're in good health now, statistics favor waiting. 3. Current income needs: If you need the money now to maintain your lifestyle, that's a valid reason to claim early. 4. Other retirement resources: Do you have other savings that could allow you to delay? The GPO (Government Pension Offset) is what prevents you from collecting spousal benefits, which is separate from WEP that reduces your own benefit. Unfortunately, with a teacher's pension, you get hit with both. In my situation, I waited until FRA despite WEP, and I'm glad I did. The permanently higher monthly amount gives me peace of mind.

take it now!!! i waited and regret it. you never know what tomorrow brings and the government keeps changing the rules anyway. my sister waited til 67 and only got to collect for 2 years before she passed. all that money she couldve had earlier just gone. bird in hand!!

I dealt with both WEP and GPO as a retired firefighter. The calculations can be maddening! I found it helpful to request my earnings record from SSA and run different scenarios. One factor you didn't mention is whether you're still working? If you claim before FRA and earn over the earnings limit ($22,320 in 2025), they'll withhold $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit. That could significantly reduce or eliminate your benefits until you reach FRA. Also, have you confirmed exactly how much your WEP reduction is? The WEP reduction is capped at 50% of your pension amount and can be less if you have more than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. I tried for weeks to get someone at SSA on the phone to explain all this and kept hitting dead ends. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent was able to run different filing scenarios for me with the exact WEP reduction amounts, which made my decision much clearer.

my cousin works for SSA and she says most people take it at 62 even with the reduction. but most financial advisors say wait if you can. its a personal choice either way. the WEP thing is so unfair to teachers and public workers!!! we should all be fighting to get rid of it.

Have you used any of the online calculators that factor in WEP? I found that most regular retirement calculators don't handle WEP properly. The SSA has a WEP calculator on their website, but it's not very user-friendly. I'm in almost the same situation (teacher in California) and decided to wait until my FRA. For me, the peace of mind of having a larger guaranteed monthly check was worth more than getting smaller checks sooner. But that's just my personal risk tolerance. My husband keeps saying I could have invested the early SS payments, but honestly, at our age, I don't want to take investment risks with money I'll need for essential expenses.

To answer your question from earlier - I waited until my FRA (66+2 months for my birth year), but not to 70. My benefit went from what would have been about $1,100/month at 64 to $1,420/month at FRA. That's $320 more every month for potentially 20+ years of retirement. The WEP reduction was frustrating, but I had 25 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, so my WEP penalty was reduced somewhat (it's reduced by 5% for each year over 20 years of substantial earnings). I'd highly recommend contacting SSA directly to get their calculation of your benefits at different ages with the exact WEP reduction applied. That's the only way to make a truly informed decision.

THEY DONT MAKE IT EASY DO THEY?? my brother in law had same problem with WEP and GPO from his job as a police officer. Ended up just taking SS early because he said the whole system is rigged anyway. He said the extra money NOW was worth more than MAYBE getting more later. makes sense to me!

To the person who asked if Claimyr works - yes, it definitely did for me. After weeks of frustration trying to get through to SSA about my WEP calculation, I was connected in about 15 minutes. The agent was able to pull up my record and give me exact benefit amounts with WEP reductions for ages 62, FRA, and 70. Made my decision so much clearer having the real numbers. For the original poster, having those exact figures from SSA is really valuable for WEP situations since the reductions can vary based on your specific earnings history.

my moms friend waited til 70 to get the maximum and said its the best decision she ever made. but she didn't have WEP so idk if that applies to you