Social Security WEP reduction with CSRS pension from Naval Shipyard - affected by GPO repeal?

Unfortunately, what you're describing is the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which is different from the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that was recently repealed. GPO affected survivor and spousal benefits, while WEP affects your own retirement benefits when you have a pension from non-covered employment. The recent legislation only repealed GPO, not WEP. So your husband's reduced Social Security retirement benefits will continue to be affected by WEP. I went through something similar with my husband who worked for state government. It's frustrating that Congress only addressed half the problem.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY SO MANY OF US FORMER GOVT EMPLOYEES ARE FURIOUS!!! They only repealed HALF the problem! GPO affected spouses/survivors, but WEP (which hits OUR OWN benefits) is still in place! I worked 22 yrs for the postal service and 18 in private sector and my SS check is a JOKE compared to what I paid in. Congress loves to pat themselves on the back for the GPO repeal while ignoring those of us getting robbed by WEP. Call your representatives and DEMAND they address WEP too!!!

To clarify some technical details: The WEP reduction that's affecting your husband has a maximum reduction of 60% of his first PIA bend point (approximately $1,174 in 2024). However, there's a guarantee that the reduction cannot be more than 50% of his CSRS pension amount. Also, since your husband has more than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, the WEP reduction is actually less than the maximum - it's reduced by 5% for each year over 20. With 27 years of substantial earnings under Social Security (12 before federal service plus 15 after), he should be getting a 35% reduction in the WEP penalty (7 years × 5% = 35%). If the SSA didn't calculate this correctly, you may want to request a reconsideration. As the previous commenters mentioned, the GPO repeal that was recently passed only affects spousal and survivor benefits, not the WEP that's reducing his own benefit.

When my dad retired from the army then worked construction they did the same thing to him. Its so confuseing because SS statements never show the WEP reduction until you actually file. Good luck getting a straight answer from SSA too, we called 8 times and got 8 different explanations about how it was calculated. Total mess.

I've helped several clients navigate this exact issue. The Social Security Administration publishes a chart of "substantial earnings" amounts for each year, which determines how the WEP reduction is calculated. For 2024, you need to have earned $32,550 to qualify as substantial earnings, but the amount was much lower in previous years. To request a reconsideration of your husband's benefit calculation, you'll need to file Form SSA-561 "Request for Reconsideration" along with documentation proving his earnings history. Before doing that, I'd recommend scheduling an appointment with an SSA Technical Expert (not just a regular field office representative) to review the calculation. Getting through to a technical expert by phone can be extremely difficult though - I've had clients wait on hold for hours only to get disconnected.

My wife went thru this last yr... wep is still active and it stinks! we were hoping the gpo repeal meant wep was gone 2 but nope! she worked 4 the county 4 30 yrs then 10 with regular job. only getting like $450 from SS even tho she paid in for 10 yrs. makes no sense!!

Have you considered calling your congressman? My uncle had a similar problem and his representative's office had a caseworker who helped straighten things out. Worth a try.

If you're struggling to reach someone at Social Security to review your husband's WEP calculation, you might want to try Claimyr. I discovered this service last month when I was trying to resolve an issue with my wife's survivor benefits. It connects you directly to a Social Security agent without the hours of waiting on hold. The website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - I was skeptical at first but it actually got me connected to an SSA agent in about 15 minutes after I'd spent weeks trying to get through on my own. The agent I spoke with was able to explain exactly how the WEP reduction had been applied to my benefits.

One more important point regarding your husband's situation: Since he has a CSRS pension, he's significantly impacted by WEP. However, had he been under FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System), which began in 1987, the impact would have been less since FERS employees pay into Social Security. If he has exactly 27 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, his WEP reduction should be 65% of the full WEP penalty (rather than 100%). For 2025, with the maximum WEP reduction being approximately $621 per month, his actual reduction should be around $403 per month (65% of $621). If he's seeing a larger reduction, it's definitely worth requesting a recalculation. Also, keep in mind that as of January 2025, the substantial earnings threshold is $33,750.

my dad just gave up trying to fight this... said its not worth the stress at his age. sucks that they can just take money he earned!