Will COLA increases eventually overcome GPO reduction on my Social Security spousal benefits?

Yes, this is actually a good question about how GPO works over time! If your husband's benefit increases with COLA adjustments over the years and eventually reaches a point where 50% of his benefit exceeds the GPO reduction (2/3 of your pension), then yes, you would start receiving the difference as a spousal benefit. Here's how it would work mathematically: - Your GPO reduction stays fixed at 2/3 of your pension amount when you first apply (assuming your pension doesn't change) - Each year, your husband's SS benefit would increase with COLA - Once 50% of his benefit exceeds your GPO reduction amount, you'd get the difference So in your example, if his benefit eventually grows to $2,800/month through COLA increases, your spousal benefit calculation would be: $2,800 × 50% = $1,400 (potential spousal benefit) $1,400 - $1,933 (GPO reduction) = still negative, so still $0 He would need to reach $3,866/month before you'd see any spousal benefit (which would require substantial COLA increases over many years).

The same thing happened to my mom!!! She was a postal worker for 30 years and got NOTHING from my dad's Social Security even though he paid in his whole life!! The whole system is RIGGED against government workers. It's totally unfair that we pay into our pensions AND Social Security but then get penalized!!! I don't think you'll EVER see a penny because by the time the COLA raises his benefit enough, they'll probably just change the rules again to keep taking money from hardworking people. The GPO and WEP are just THEFT by another name!!

Interesting question about COLA and GPO. I think technically yes, but realistically no. The math just doesn't work out in your favor because COLA increases are usually only 2-3% per year. Your husband's benefit would need to increase by over 80% from $2,100 to around $3,900 before you'd see a penny. At 3% annual COLA, that would take roughly 20+ years. I'm in a similar boat - former state employee with pension subject to GPO. I've calculated that I'll be about 90 years old before my wife's SS benefit with COLA increases enough to overcome my GPO reduction. Not counting on it!

Have you considered trying to reach someone at SSA directly to get an official calculation? I had a similar WEP/GPO question last month and spent DAYS trying to get through on the phone. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Ended up using this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes. It costs money but saved me so much frustration. The agent was able to run different scenarios for me showing exactly how my GPO would work over time with projected COLA increases. Way more helpful than guessing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com if you're interested. Might be worth it to get a definitive answer about your specific situation.

Just to add another piece to this puzzle - don't forget that your teacher's pension might also have COLA increases depending on your state retirement system. If your pension increases with inflation too, that would increase the 2/3 GPO reduction amount, potentially offsetting the COLA increases to your husband's benefit. This happened to my mother-in-law. Her state pension had a 2% annual COLA, which meant her GPO reduction grew over time too, effectively canceling out any benefit she might have gotten from her husband's Social Security COLA increases. The SSA recalculates the GPO amount whenever your pension amount changes, so it's not necessarily fixed forever at the initial amount.

my neighbor had the same ? and ssa told her no matter how much cola her husbands ss got she would never get anything becuz her pension was to big. waste of time even asking tbh

Just to clarify one important point: the GPO reduction amount is recalculated any time your pension amount changes. So if your pension has COLA adjustments (as many teacher pensions do), then both your husband's Social Security and your GPO reduction would increase over time. This means the threshold for receiving benefits keeps moving higher. If your pension COLA is similar to or higher than Social Security COLA, you might never reach the point of receiving spousal benefits. However, if your pension has no COLA or a smaller COLA than Social Security typically provides, then yes - eventually you might qualify for a small benefit. But as others have mentioned, it could take many years.

Has anyone successfully appealed a GPO reduction? I've heard rumors that if you can prove financial hardship you can get the offset reduced. Is that true or just another SSA myth?

My wife had similar situation and we just gave up trying to figure it out. The whole GPO thing is just so frustrating! Good luck with your situation hope you get something eventually.