Social Security WEP/GPO repeal - what it means for state pensioners married to SS recipients

Wow, i'm in almost the same boat! Also a teacher with state pension and hubby on SS. From what i understand, if they repeal GPO, you'd finally be able to get spouse benefits (up to 50% of his full benefit) without the current 2/3 pension offset that basically wipes it out. And if they repeal WEP, any SS you earned from those summer jobs wouldn't be reduced anymore. But dont count on it happening - they've been trying to repeal these for decades!!

Let me explain what WEP and GPO repeal would mean for your situation: 1) Government Pension Offset (GPO) - Currently, your spousal benefits are reduced by 2/3 of your government pension. If GPO is repealed, you could receive full spousal benefits (up to 50% of your husband's PIA) without this reduction. 2) Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) - This affects your own Social Security benefits from those summer jobs. Currently, your potential benefit is calculated using a modified formula that reduces your benefit. If WEP is repealed, your benefit would be calculated using the standard formula, potentially increasing your benefit. The key impacts for you would be: - Potentially receiving spousal benefits (up to 50% of your husband's benefit) - Possibly receiving some benefit based on your 8 years of SS-covered work - Having Medicare Part B premiums deducted from SS payments instead of paying separately However, please understand that repeal is not guaranteed. These provisions were originally implemented to address perceived inequities between government employees and private sector workers.

They been talking about repealing these forevr. My sister waited 7 years for it and gave up and just took the tiny benefit they gave her. Don't hold your breath on this one happening anytime soon!!

As someone who's researched this extensively, here's what repeal would mean: For GPO (affects spouse/survivor benefits): Currently, your spousal benefit is reduced by 2/3 of your non-covered pension ($4,850 × 2/3 = $3,233). Since this is more than 50% of your husband's benefit ($2,700 × 0.5 = $1,350), you currently receive $0. If repealed, you would receive the full $1,350 monthly. For WEP (affects your own SS benefit): You mentioned working summers for 8 years. If you earned 32+ credits (8 years × 4 credits/year), you're insured for retirement benefits. Currently, WEP reduces your first benefit bracket from 90% to as low as 40%. If repealed, your benefit calculation would use the full 90% factor, potentially adding several hundred dollars more. Both changes would be significant for you and your friend, but repeal legislation has stalled repeatedly over funding concerns. The Social Security Fairness Act has substantial support but hasn't passed yet.

So frustrating how they punish us for choosing public service careers!! I worked as a teacher for 31 years, paid into state pension, and I get ZERO from my husband's Social Security even though I supported him through his career too! It's like we're being penalized for choosing to teach kids instead of working for a corporation. And good luck actually reaching someone at Social Security who can even explain how all this works. I tried calling for THREE DAYS and couldn't get through.

My sister's a teacher too and the GPO takes ALL of her spousal benefits away! So anoying that they keep introducing bills to fix this but nothing ever happens. My understanding is GPO repeal = you get spousal benefits like everyone else. WEP repeal = any Social Security you earned yourself gets calculated normally instead of being reduced. But honestly who knows if this will EVER pass with how congress works these days lol

One important correction I should make to my earlier explanation - you mentioned having 8 years of summer work where you paid into Social Security. To qualify for your own Social Security retirement benefit, you need 40 credits (roughly 10 years of work). If you have fewer than 40 credits, repealing WEP wouldn't give you your own retirement benefit, but repealing GPO would still allow you to receive the full spousal benefit based on your husband's record. If you're not sure how many credits you have, you can create an account at my.ssa.gov and check your earnings record. Some summer jobs might have given you more than 4 credits per year depending on how much you earned.

I wonder if they'd make the repeal retroactive?? Like would we get back pay for all the years we should have been getting benefits? Probably not, knowing how the government works, but it would be nice!!