Social Security and WEP recalculation with self-employment income - how to verify SS calculated my benefits correctly?

Yes, you can request a detailed benefit calculation! File form SSA-7004 (Request for Social Security Statement) and specifically note that you want the detailed calculation. When you get it, look for how they counted your "substantial earnings" years for WEP purposes. For 2025, you need $32,175 in covered earnings to qualify as substantial. Also, each substantial earnings year over 20 reduces your WEP penalty by 5%. Since you're still working self-employed, make sure to file your Schedule SE tax forms promptly each year so SSA gets those earnings records.

they should do it automatically but i'd call anyway. my dad had similar situatin with some work not covered by SS and they messed up his WEP calculation twice!! had to keep calling

The annual earnings recomputation should happen automatically, but in my experience it never hurts to follow up. I had a similar situation (though with regular employment, not self-employment) and my benefit did increase slightly after my first full year of post-retirement work.

I'm in almost the exact same boat! FRA this year, WEP affected, and still working self-employed. I've been losing sleep over whether they're calculating everything right. Did you know that if you have 30+ years of "substantial earnings" the WEP doesn't apply at all? That's what I'm working toward. But the SSA website is SO confusing about how they calculate the reduction years.

The POMS section that covers this is RS 00605.360 - Recomputations for Additional Earnings After WEP Applies. You want to specifically ask for an "AERO" (Automatic Earnings Recomputation Operation) review. They run these automatically in late October/early November for earnings from the previous year. As for verifying the calculation, yes, you can request your Detailed Earnings Query (DEQY) and benefit calculation. This will show exactly which years counted as substantial earnings for WEP purposes. If you're having trouble getting this information through the normal channels, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent quickly. They have a great video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. With your complex work history involving non-covered employment, it's especially important to verify everything's correct.

Dont trust SSA!!!! They messed up my wifes WEP calculation TWICE and we had to fight for months to fix it. Ask for EVERYTHING in writing and keep copies!!!

Wait, I'm confused about something. You said half your teaching years paid into SS and half didn't? I thought teachers either participated in Social Security OR a state pension system, not both. Can someone explain how this works? I'm approaching retirement myself and worried about WEP but don't fully understand how it applies.

hav u checked ur my social security account online? sometimes it shows the recalculations before they actually tell you about them

Update: I should have mentioned that for self-employment income specifically, there's a lag time because the SSA doesn't receive your earnings information until after you file your tax return. If you filed extensions, this could delay the AERO process. For complicated cases like yours with both WEP and ongoing self-employment, it's best to speak directly with a Technical Expert (TE) at SSA, not just a regular claims representative. When you call, specifically request to speak with a TE who specializes in WEP calculations.

IMPORTANT QUESTION: Are you also subject to GPO (Government Pension Offset)? That's different from WEP and applies to spouse/survivor benefits. The combination of WEP and GPO can be really complex. Just making sure you're aware of both if they apply to your situation.