WEP reduction at age 75 - Does part-time income ($25k) reduce Social Security WEP penalty?
I'm helping my dad figure out his Social Security situation. He's 75 and just started collecting benefits last year after delaying. Problem is, he worked for the state government for 22 years (with pension) and now Social Security is hitting him with this WEP reduction thing that's cutting his benefit by almost $500/month! He's still working part-time making about $25,000 a year at a local hardware store. I've been reading that sometimes WEP reductions can be lessened if you have enough "substantial earnings" in years with Social Security taxes. Does his current $25k income help reduce the WEP penalty at all? Or does he need to earn at least $31,275 (the 2025 substantial earnings amount) for it to count? He's pretty frustrated about the unexpected reduction and wants to know if his current work helps at all with this situation.
16 comments
Join the conversation
Lydia Bailey
My husband went thru this. Your dad needs to reach the substantial earnings amount each year for it to count towards reducing WEP. part time work that doesn't reach that amount wont help
0 coins
Marcus Patterson
•Thanks for the quick response! That's disappointing but good to know. Do you know if the years he works past his FRA count the same as any other year for reducing WEP? Or is there any special advantage to working in these later years?
0 coins
Mateo Warren
Yes, your father would need to earn at least the substantial earnings amount for the year ($31,275 in 2025) for that year to count toward potentially reducing his WEP reduction. Here's how it works: - WEP reduction is lessened if you have 21+ years of substantial earnings under Social Security - With 30+ years of substantial earnings, WEP doesn't apply at all - Each year of substantial earnings between 20-30 years reduces the WEP penalty - The amount for substantial earnings changes yearly ($31,275 for 2025) If your father can increase his work hours to reach that threshold, each additional year of substantial earnings would help reduce his WEP penalty. At 75, each year he can add does make a difference.
0 coins
Sofia Price
•This is correct. To add a bit more context - the WEP reduction maxes out at $598 in 2025 (for someone first eligible for benefits this year). That maximum reduction applies if you have 20 or fewer years of substantial earnings. For each year of substantial earnings over 20, the reduction amount decreases by 5%. So if your father has exactly 20 years now, getting to 21 years would reduce the WEP penalty by about $30/month. If he can work enough to earn $31,275 this year, it will help.
0 coins
Alice Coleman
went thru the same thing with my wife!!! the govt is STEALING from us with this WEP garbage!!!! she worked for county for 25 yrs and they took $450 from her SS every month!!! its ROBBERY!!!!!
0 coins
Owen Jenkins
•I understand your frustration, but WEP isn't exactly stealing. The formula exists because people with pensions from non-covered employment used to get unfairly high SS benefits due to the weighted benefit formula. Still feels unfair though, especially when it's a surprise at retirement time. The SSA should do a better job warning people about this earlier in their careers.
0 coins
Lilah Brooks
If your dad has exactly 20 years of substantial earnings right now, he'd need to hit that $31,275 this year for it to count as year 21. Each additional year reduces the WEP penalty by 5%. So if his WEP reduction is $500 now, getting to 21 years would lower it by about $25-30 per month. One thing to consider - has your dad checked if any of his previous years of work might actually count as substantial earnings? Sometimes people forget about earlier jobs that paid into Social Security. It's worth checking his earnings record carefully to make sure all his covered employment is counted correctly.
0 coins
Jackson Carter
•good point! I forgot i worked at a gas station in college and it helped me get to 23 years instead of 22 when we did the math on my WEP thing last year. check his SS statement online it shows every year he worked
0 coins
Kolton Murphy
Has anybody else had trouble getting through to Social Security to ask about WEP? I've been trying for DAYS and either get disconnected or told the wait is over 2 hours!!!
0 coins
Lilah Brooks
•I've had better luck using this service called Claimyr that gets you through to a Social Security agent quickly. Saved me hours of frustration when dealing with my WEP questions. You can see how it works in their video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or check out claimyr.com. It really helped when I needed detailed answers about my substantial earnings calculation that I couldn't figure out myself.
0 coins
Lydia Bailey
isnt there some kind of thing with WEP where if you have a small pension it doesnt hurt as much? thought I read something about that somewhere
0 coins
Mateo Warren
•Yes, there's the WEP guarantee provision. The WEP reduction cannot exceed 50% of your non-covered pension. So if your dad's government pension is relatively small, this might help limit the WEP reduction. For example, if his monthly pension from state government work is $800, then the maximum WEP reduction would be $400 (50% of $800), even if the normal WEP formula would have reduced it more. This doesn't apply to everyone, but it's definitely worth looking into if the pension is modest.
0 coins
Alice Coleman
they never tell u about WEP until its to late!! i worked 18 years government and 22 years private and still got hit with WEP!! the whole thing is a SCAM!!!
0 coins
Marcus Patterson
•It was definitely a shock for my dad too. He had no idea this would happen until he actually applied for benefits. I wish they'd make this more clear to people earlier in their careers so they could plan accordingly. It seems like a lot of people get caught by surprise with this.
0 coins
Sofia Price
To summarize for your father's situation: 1. Yes, he must earn $31,275 in 2025 for it to count as a year of substantial earnings 2. Working part-time at $25,000 won't help reduce the WEP penalty 3. Each year of substantial earnings over 20 reduces the WEP penalty by 5% 4. Age doesn't matter - substantial earnings count the same whether you're 25 or 75 5. Check his earnings record carefully - he might have more years of substantial earnings than he realizes 6. Look into the WEP guarantee provision if his government pension is small If he can increase his hours to reach $31,275 this year, it would definitely help reduce the WEP impact on his benefits.
0 coins
Marcus Patterson
•Thank you so much for this clear summary! I've made notes of everything and will go over this with my dad this weekend. I think we'll look at whether he can pick up extra shifts to hit that threshold, and we'll definitely check his earnings record carefully. Really appreciate everyone's help with this complicated issue!
0 coins