Will Windfall Elimination Provision severely reduce my Social Security at 70 with only 5 years of non-SS covered teaching?

The WEP can really mess with your benefits, but with only 5 years in a non-covered position, it shouldn't be devastating. I was in a similar situation with 7 years teaching in a non-SS district in Texas. When I applied for my benefits last year, the WEP reduction was about $350 per month from what I would have received otherwise. The good news is that your spousal benefit calculation works differently - WEP affects your own benefit, but the 50% spousal calculation should still be based on your husband's full PIA. I'd recommend calling SSA directly to get an accurate calculation, but their phone lines are ridiculous. I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Worth it to get concrete answers about your specific situation!

Just to clarify some terminology - WEP is the Windfall Elimination Provision which reduces your own Social Security benefit if you receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security. The GPO (Government Pension Offset) is what affects spousal and survivor benefits. Since you have a non-covered pension, both could potentially affect you but in different ways. However, I do have some good news for you. The WEP reduction is based on a formula that gets less severe the more "substantial earnings" years you have under Social Security. With 15 years of substantial earnings, your WEP reduction would be limited to about 45% of your pension amount, with a maximum reduction of $534 in 2025. As for the spousal benefit, if you're eligible for a government pension based on non-covered work, the GPO could reduce your spousal benefit by 2/3 of your government pension amount. But the critical question is: will you actually receive a pension from those 5 years? Many systems require more years of service to vest in their pension benefits.

I dealt with this exact situation! If you don't vest in the pension system from your school district (many require 10 years minimum), then WEP and GPO won't apply to you at all. You should check immediately if you're vested or will vest in their pension plan. If not, you're in the clear. Also, an important correction: when you claim at 70, you don't get 50% of your spouse's benefit PLUS delayed retirement credits. You'd get 50% of his full retirement age amount. The 132% (for waiting until 70) only applies to your own benefit, not the spousal portion. If your husband has already filed for his benefits, you could file a restricted application for just spousal benefits now (if you're full retirement age) and let your own benefit continue to grow until 70. But if you were born after January 1, 1954, this strategy isn't available anymore.

My advice: go to SSA.gov, create an account if you havent, and look at your earnings record. Make sure all your work history is correct. Then use their calculator to get estimates. That's the best way to know for sure what your looking at for benefits. Just make sure you check the box for WEP calculation if your gonna get that non-covered pension.

NOBODY at SSA gives the same answer twice about WEP and GPO!!!! I've been dealing with this nightmare for 2 years. First they told me I'd lose $320/month, then $480, then back to $350. EVERY SINGLE PERSON gives different information. The online calculators DON'T account for this properly. Even the "specialized" WEP calculator on their site is GARBAGE. You need to talk to someone in person at your local office who SPECIALIZES in WEP cases, not just any random agent. Half of them don't understand their own rules!!!

One more thing I forgot to mention - if your school district offers a 403(b) instead of a traditional pension, that's different. WEP only applies to traditional defined benefit pensions from non-covered employment, not defined contribution plans like 403(b) or 457 plans. You need to find out exactly what type of retirement plan you have through the school district.

One last tip: Request a benefit estimate directly from your pension system that shows what your monthly pension amount would be. If you are vested, this is the amount that would affect your calculations. Then, when you speak with SSA, you'll have all the information they need to give you an accurate WEP/GPO calculation. Also, remember that if your combined Social Security covered employment eventually reaches 30 years with "substantial earnings" (over $30,000 per year in 2025), you'd be fully exempt from WEP regardless of your non-covered pension.