Social Security spousal benefits eligibility with GPO suspension at 78 - can I get half my husband's benefit?

unfortunately GPO will still affect you. it reduces spousal benefits by 2/3 of your government pension. so if your pension is more than $1,837/month, you'd still get zero spousal benefits because 2/3 of that would wipe out the $1,225.

Thank you for explaining. My pension is $2,890/month, so I guess I'm still out of luck. Is there any point where the GPO impact decreases? I keep hoping something will change as we get older.

The GPO calculation is always the same regardless of age - 2/3 of your government pension is deducted from your potential spousal benefit. With your pension at $2,890/month, the GPO reduction would be approximately $1,927 (2/3 of $2,890). Since your potential spousal benefit would be $1,225 (half of your husband's current benefit), the GPO reduction completely eliminates your spousal benefit.One thing to check: Did you have any substantial employment where you paid into Social Security (40+ quarters/10 years)? If so, you might be eligible for your own retirement benefit, which would be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) instead of GPO, which sometimes has a less severe reduction.

I do have about 8 years of SS-covered employment before my government job, but I don't think that's enough for my own benefit. I was really hoping there might be some exception for people in their late 70s. This is so frustrating after paying into both systems!

my mom went thru simlar thing!! she worked for county school system for 25 yrs. she gets ZERO from SS even tho my dad paid in his whole life. its a crime what they do to govt workers!!!

Same with my aunt - 30 years teaching and can't get her husband's SS even though he was a high earner. They call it

This GPO rule is so confusing and seems unfair. I thought at some point there was legislation proposed to eliminate it? Did that ever go anywhere? I'm trying to understand this for my own planning since I have some government service too.

There have been multiple bills introduced to reform or repeal GPO/WEP over the years (most recently the Social Security Fairness Act), but none have passed due to cost concerns. The estimated cost to repeal both provisions is over $140 billion over 10 years. Unfortunately, despite bipartisan support at times, these reform efforts haven't succeeded yet.

I had a similar situation with my government pension from the VA. What helped me tremendously was finally getting through to an actual SSA agent who specialized in GPO/WEP cases. They reviewed my entire work history and found some calculation errors in my case.After weeks of busy signals and disconnected calls, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to SSA without the wait. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. Got me connected to a live agent in under 10 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. The agent was able to schedule me with a technical expert for a full review of my GPO situation.In your case, it would be worth having SSA double-check all your numbers, especially with your work history being from so long ago. Sometimes there are errors in their calculations that can be corrected.

Thank you, that's helpful! I've been trying to get through to SSA for months with no luck. I'll check out that service. Did you find that the specialist gave you different information than what you'd gotten before? I'm wondering if there might be some exception or special calculation I don't know about.

Yes, the specialist knew much more about GPO than the regular agents. In my case, they found that some of my government service was actually under a retirement system that DID pay into Social Security (many people don't realize some government jobs do pay into SS). This reduced my GPO penalty.The specialist also explained that if your pension is based on work where you simultaneously paid into both systems (rare but happens in some jurisdictions), that portion might not be subject to GPO. Worth asking about your specific pension details.

My brother works for county govt and pays into BOTH systems! Didn't know that could help with GPO. These rules are impossible to understand without talking to an expert.

I HATE THE GPO SO MUCH!!!! Worked 29 YEARS for city government, husband paid MAXIMUM into SS his ENTIRE CAREER, and I get NOTHING from his record!!! And yes, I've checked MULTIPLE TIMES with SSA and the answer is always the same - my pension of $3,185/month means I get ZERO spousal benefits. The system is RIGGED against public servants!!!

its so unfair!! they should at least give us SOMETHING after all those years our spouses paid in. doesnt make sense why we get totally cut off!

alot of ppl dont realize you can still get survivor benefits even with GPO. theyre reduced but not always eliminated. so when ur spouse passes (not to be morbid) you might qualify for some benefits then. survivor benefit would be higher than spousal.

That's something I hadn't considered. So the survivor benefit would be higher than the spousal benefit? That's good to know, though obviously not something I'm looking forward to dealing with.

That's correct about survivor benefits. While a spousal benefit is 50% of the worker's benefit amount, a survivor benefit is up to 100% of what the worker was receiving (depending on when you claim it). The GPO still reduces it by 2/3 of your government pension, but since the starting amount is higher, you're more likely to receive some benefit.For example, if your husband's benefit is $2,450/month, the potential survivor benefit would be $2,450 (not $1,225 like the spousal benefit). With your $2,890 pension, the GPO reduction would be about $1,927, leaving you with roughly $523/month in survivor benefits after your husband passes.I'd recommend getting this calculation verified by SSA when the time comes, as benefit amounts will have changed by then due to COLAs.

Thank you for explaining that so clearly. I had no idea there might be some benefits available eventually. I appreciate everyone's help in figuring this out!