Will I get Social Security survivor benefits at 70 after WEP/GPO reduced them to $0 years ago?

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) will still apply regardless of your age. It reduces your survivor benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. If your pension is still large enough to completely offset your survivor benefit, you'd still receive $0 unfortunately. However, if your pension has changed or if there have been COLA increases to your husband's calculated benefit, it might be worth checking with SSA again.

my neighbor had same thing happen but she got a small check anyway. have u actually gone in and applied again? sometimes they make mistakes in the calculation. worth checking.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) are ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL! My father worked 42 YEARS paying into Social Security AND was a firefighter with a pension. When he retired, they slashed his SS benefit by almost 60%!!! And this is how our government treats public servants?? The system is RIGGED against those who dedicated their lives to public service. There's legislation to repeal these unfair provisions, but Congress never does anything about it!!!

While your survivor benefits will still be subject to GPO, there are a few things to consider: 1. Your husband's SSDI application: If it was approved posthumously, you might be entitled to a lump sum death payment and possibly some retroactive benefits. 2. Recalculation at FRA: The benefit amount would be calculated based on what your husband would have received at his full retirement age, including all COLAs since 2015. 3. Changes to your pension: If your pension amount changes upon full retirement, it could affect the GPO calculation. I'd recommend contacting SSA directly to get a current calculation. You might still receive $0, but it's worth checking if the numbers have changed enough to provide some benefit.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but GPO is still gonna apply. My wife went thru this exact same thing. Teacher for 35 years, tried to claim on my record when I started getting SSDI, and got zippo because of her TRS pension.

Have you tried calling Social Security directly to ask about your specific situation? I spent WEEKS trying to get through on their 800 number and always got disconnected or had to wait for hours. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent I spoke with was really helpful and explained exactly how my benefits were calculated and what I could expect. Sometimes talking directly to an agent is the only way to get clear answers for complicated situations like yours.

One more thing to consider - if you worked long enough in Social Security-covered employment (40 quarters/10 years), you might be eligible for your own Social Security retirement benefit. Even with WEP reduction, it's worth checking if your own benefit might be higher than the GPO-reduced survivor benefit. Some people with government pensions also have enough quarters from other jobs to qualify for their own benefit.

u should definitely reapply anyway. my aunt got denied three times for disability but kept trying and finally got approved. sometimes u just get a different person reviewing ur case.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I'm going to make an appointment with my local Social Security office to review my specific situation. I'll also try that Claimyr service to speak with someone by phone before my appointment so I'm better prepared. It sounds like I might still get $0 due to GPO, but at least I'll know for sure and can check if they're calculating everything correctly. I'll update this thread after I speak with them in case it helps others in my situation!