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Will I get 6 or 12 months retroactive Social Security after GPO issue resolves?

I divorced after 15 years of marriage and applied for spousal benefits on my ex's record last year. I was approved but my payments were immediately suspended due to Government Pension Offset (GPO) from my state teacher's pension. Recently, my pension administrator confirmed my pension will be recalculated, reducing it enough that I should now qualify for some spousal benefits after the GPO reduction. My question is: when SSA resolves this and lifts the suspension, will I receive retroactive payments? And if so, would it be for 6 months or the full 12 months since my benefits were initially suspended? I've heard different things from different people at my local office. My suspended benefit amount would be approximately $975/month before the GPO reduction (not sure what I'll actually get after GPO). Has anyone gone through something similar with suspended benefits that later became payable?

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20 comments

Miguel Ramos

•20d

The general rule is that Social Security can provide up to 6 months of retroactive benefits for retirement and spousal claims. However, since your benefits were approved but suspended (rather than this being a new application), the situation is different. In suspension cases where eligibility changes, SSA should theoretically pay you back to the date your eligibility changed (when your pension amount decreased enough to allow partial benefits after GPO). You'll need to provide SSA with documentation showing exactly when this pension change occurred. Keep in mind that the GPO reduction is 2/3 of your pension amount, so you'll need to calculate whether your reduced pension now allows for any spousal benefit. For example, if your pension was reduced to $1,200/month, the GPO reduction would be $800, leaving you potentially eligible for $175/month from the spousal benefit.

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Zainab Omar

•20d

That sounds awful! I've been having similar issues trying to get through to anyone at SSA who knows what they're talking about. After 15+ calls and hours on hold, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration when I was dealing with my WEP recalculation. Maybe worth trying if you're still having issues getting definitive answers.

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Yara Sayegh

•20d

I'm a retired claims specialist, and here's what should happen in your case: Since your benefits were already approved but suspended due to GPO, you should receive retroactive payments back to the date your pension amount changed, making you eligible for partial benefits. This is different from the normal 6-month retroactivity rule for new applications. You'll need to provide: 1. Documentation from your pension administrator showing when exactly the pension amount changed 2. The exact new pension amount SSA will then recalculate the GPO reduction (2/3 of your pension) and determine what portion of your spousal benefit is payable. The retroactive payment should cover the entire period from when your pension changed to present, assuming that change happened within the last 4 years (the limit for reopening determinations). Request this in writing and keep copies of everything. Processing time is typically 60-90 days for these adjustments.

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Miguel Ramos

•20d

GPO (Government Pension Offset) reduces spousal or survivor benefits if you receive a pension from work where you didn't pay Social Security taxes. It typically reduces those benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) reduces your own Social Security retirement benefits if you also receive a pension from work where you didn't pay Social Security taxes. Simply put: GPO affects benefits you'd get from someone else's record (spouse/ex-spouse), while WEP affects benefits on your own record.

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