Will WEP reduce my Social Security at Full Retirement Age or can I get full benefits?

Unfortunately, WEP will still affect your Social Security benefits even if you apply at your Full Retirement Age. WEP isn't age-dependent - it's based on whether you receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security taxes. The reduction is calculated based on your years of "substantial earnings" under Social Security. If you have 30+ years of substantial earnings under SS, WEP doesn't apply. With 20-29 years (sounds like you have 22), there's a partial WEP reduction. The maximum WEP reduction in 2025 is about $612, but you'll likely face less since you have more than 20 years of substantial earnings.

My husband went thru this last year!! FRA has NOTHING to do with WEP!! We thought the same thing and got a nasty surprise. It's all about the pension from non-SS work. The SSA people on the phone couldn't even explain it right the first 2 times we called!!!

The WEP reduction is actually on a sliding scale based on how many years of substantial earnings you have under Social Security. With 22 years, you won't face the full WEP reduction. Here's the approximate formula: - 20 years of substantial earnings = 40% reduction from maximum WEP penalty - 21 years = 45% reduction - 22 years = 50% reduction - And so on until 30+ years = no WEP penalty So with 22 years, your WEP reduction would be about half of the maximum WEP penalty (roughly $306 instead of the full $612 for 2025). You should create an account on my.ssa.gov if you haven't already - your benefit estimate there should already factor in the WEP reduction if you've reported your pension information to SSA.

Doesnt matter when you apply, WEP is WEP. I got hit with it and I waited until 68 to apply! The only things that matter are 1) if you get a non-SS pension and 2) how many years of "substantial earnings" you have under SS. You should ask about GPO too if your spouse worked for gov't without SS taxes.

my brother in law thoght the SAME THING. wep has nothing to do with your age!! he was VERY upset when he found out. make sure you are looking at the right estimate on the ssa website - they have one that includes wep and one that doesnt!

Getting accurate information about WEP directly from SSA has been challenging for many people. I was in a similar situation last year and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours on the phone. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through, the agent provided me with a calculation worksheet showing exactly how my WEP reduction was determined based on my years of substantial earnings. It was really helpful to have that detailed breakdown rather than just guessing. In my case, with 24 years of substantial earnings, my reduction was only about $245 instead of the maximum.

I think what ur friends might be confused about is that taking SS EARLY (before FRA) vs AT FRA has different reduction amounts. But thats about EARLY CLAIMING reductions NOT about WEP. WEP is completely different and applies no matter when you claim. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

One important thing to verify: have you checked if any of your 22 years of Social Security covered work meet the "substantial earnings" threshold? For 2025, substantial earnings is around $30,150, but it was lower in previous years. Some people think they have 22 qualifying years but actually have fewer because some years didn't meet the earnings threshold. This could affect your WEP reduction calculation.

I still dont understand why the government can take money we EARNED just because we also have a pension!! Its OUR MONEY that we paid in!! So unfair!!! My husband lost almost $600/month because of this stupid rule!!!

One strategy some people use if they're close to another year of substantial earnings is to work part-time in Social Security covered employment to reach another year threshold. Each additional year between 20-30 reduces your WEP penalty by about 5%. If you're only 1-2 years away from 30 years, it might be worth considering working a bit longer to significantly reduce or eliminate the WEP impact.