Social Security reductions with PERS retirement - will WEP apply while I'm still working?
I started collecting Social Security at my full retirement age of 67 in February while continuing to work as a city maintenance worker. My employer contributes to a government pension (STRS) that I won't access until I fully retire in about 2 years. I'm having my SS benefits deposited directly into a separate account until I stop working completely. I know about the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and that it will reduce my Social Security when I start taking my pension. My question is: Does WEP apply NOW while I'm just collecting SS but not yet taking my pension? Or does the reduction only kick in once I actually start receiving my STRS pension payments? And if WEP doesn't affect me until I start collecting my pension, will SSA look back at the pension contributions that were made while I was simultaneously collecting Social Security? Will that change how much my SS gets reduced? I've tried calling SSA three times but keep getting disconnected after waiting forever. Thanks for any guidance!
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Zoe Papanikolaou
The WEP reduction only applies once you begin receiving your pension payments. While you're working and contributing to STRS but not receiving pension payments yet, your Social Security benefits aren't affected by WEP. The SSA doesn't look at the contributions going into your pension fund - they only care about when you start receiving actual pension payments. When you do start receiving your pension in 2 years, you'll need to report that to SSA so they can apply the WEP calculation to reduce your Social Security benefit going forward. How much the reduction will be depends on your years of substantial earnings under Social Security (if you have 30+ years of substantial earnings, you may be exempt from WEP). Keep that SS money separate as you're doing - smart move since you'll know exactly how much you received if there are any questions later.
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QuantumQuasar
•Thank you so much for this clear explanation! That's a huge relief knowing I don't have to worry about WEP until I actually start receiving my STRS pension. One follow-up question - will I need to repay any of the SS benefits I've received during these two years once my pension starts? Or does the reduction just begin from that point forward?
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Jamal Wilson
your lucky to be at FRA already!! im 63 and cant wait to get to mine... the SSA looks at when ur actually getting the pension not when ur putting money in it... i think 🤔
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Mei Lin
•This is exactly right. WEP only kicks in when you start RECEIVING the pension. And there's no retroactive reduction or repayment required for SS benefits you received before your pension started. That's why I always tell people to keep careful records of when their pension starts - the exact month matters for WEP calculations.
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Liam Fitzgerald
I dealt with this exact situation last year. The WEP only applies when you start receiving your pension. But here's what you need to know - the SSA won't automatically know when you start your pension. YOU have to report it to them, and if you don't, and they find out later (which they usually do through data matching with pension providers), they'll hit you with an overpayment notice for any months you received your full SS benefit after your pension started. And yes, the calculation is based on your pension amount when you start receiving it, not what was contributed while you were working. The earnings test doesn't apply to you since you're at FRA, so your work income doesn't affect your SS benefits now either. By the way, after calling SSA dozens of times and getting disconnected, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Totally worth it for complicated situations like yours where you really need to speak to someone.
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QuantumQuasar
•Thank you for sharing your experience! That's really helpful to know I need to proactively report when my pension starts. I'll definitely make a note to contact SSA right when I start receiving STRS payments. That Claimyr service sounds useful - I'll check out that video because I still have a few specific questions about my situation that I'd like to ask a real person at SSA.
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Amara Nnamani
DONT TRUST WHAT SSA TELLS YOU!!!! My husband went through this and they gave us WRONG information TWICE about WEP!!!! They told him no reduction then BAM they took $498 out of his SS check when his tiny pension started!!! We had to FIGHT for months to get a straight answer!!!!
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Giovanni Mancini
•Yeah same happened to my brother in law. Its so confusing and no one at SSA seems to know there own rules. I think they make it all up as they go lol
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NebulaNinja
i think its smart what ur doing with the separate account. wish i'd done that! my question - does the WEP reduction change depending on how big ur pension is? like if ur only getting a small PERS benefit does that mean only a small reduction?
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•Yes, the WEP reduction is directly related to your pension amount, but there's a maximum reduction (in 2025 it's about $610 for someone first eligible for SS). If your pension is small, the reduction will be proportionally smaller. The formula is complicated, but basically they recalculate your SS benefit using a smaller percentage of your earnings. And if your PERS pension is very small (less than $1000/month in most cases), the WEP reduction would be quite minimal.
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Jamal Wilson
has anyone else noticed that the SSA website says different things about WEP than what the reps tell u on the phone???
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Mei Lin
•The SSA website is generally more accurate than phone reps. The problem is that WEP is incredibly complex and many SSA representatives don't deal with it regularly. Always get any important information in writing, and if possible, speak with a technical expert who specializes in WEP cases rather than a general representative.
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QuantumQuasar
Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that WEP won't affect me until I actually start receiving my pension payments. I'm definitely going to keep my SS benefits in that separate account just to be safe. I'll make sure to contact SSA as soon as I start receiving my STRS pension so there are no surprises. Thanks again for clearing this up!
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Liam Fitzgerald
•One more thing to keep in mind - make sure you understand how much your STRS pension will be before you retire, so you can estimate your post-WEP Social Security amount. The SSA has a WEP calculator on their website that can help you estimate the reduction. You don't want to budget based on your current SS amount only to be surprised when it decreases.
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