Will my $5,000 state government pension reduce my Social Security benefits at 63? (WEP question)

Yes, your pension will absolutely affect your Social Security through the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The statement you see online does NOT account for WEP reductions - many people get surprised by this. The reduction depends on your years of "substantial earnings" in SS-covered employment. With 25 years of substantial earnings, your reduction will be less than someone with fewer years. For 2025, the maximum WEP reduction is about $612 per month, but with 25 years of substantial earnings, your reduction should be less. You should contact SSA directly to get an accurate calculation before making any decisions.

oh man the WEP thing is a total nightmare!! I get a county pension and my SS was cut by like 40%!!! nobody warned me until it was too late. check if your state has any rules that might help - some states have exemptions for certain workers. good luck!!!

I went through exactly this last year. My situation was similar to yours - state teacher pension plus about 22 years of SS work. My online statement showed $1800 but I ended up with about $1350 after WEP. The key is whether you have 30+ years of "substantial earnings" under SS. If you do, no WEP reduction. With 25 years, you'll face some reduction but not the maximum. The formula is complicated but you can find a WEP calculator on SSA.gov that helps. Delaying until your FRA will still increase your benefit even with WEP.

I was in your shoes two years ago. The WEP reduction is calculated based on a modified formula. With 25 years of substantial earnings, your reduction will be less than the maximum. I found that calling SSA was nearly impossible - waited on hold for hours only to get disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent I spoke with was able to tell me exactly how much my benefit would be after WEP. Worth it to get the precise number before making your decision.

dont forget GPO too!!!! windfall is one thing but GPO is another. if u have a spouse GPO will affect spousal benefits. my friend got hit with BOTH wep and GPO and she only gets like 400 a month from SS even tho she worked 15 years!!!

The WEP reduction depends on your years of substantial earnings. For 2025, with 25 years of substantial earnings, your reduction would be 45% of the full WEP reduction. Here's the calculation: 1. Maximum WEP reduction for 2025: $612 2. Your reduction with 25 years: $612 × 45% = about $275 So your SS benefit would be reduced by approximately $275/month. This means if your statement shows $2,100, you'd receive about $1,825 at your Full Retirement Age. Taking it at 64 would mean an additional reduction for claiming early. I recommend creating an account on SSA.gov if you haven't already, and using their WEP calculator. You can input your exact earnings history and get a precise figure. Also, you should verify your years of substantial earnings - the threshold increases each year ($29,700 for 2025).

My neighbor was a teacher for 30 years and gets a pension but still got some social security too. She said you should check if your pension system has any special rules. Some state pensions have different rules or agreements with SSA. Have you asked your pension administrator?

One thing to consider is that even with the WEP reduction, it still might make financial sense to claim at 64 rather than waiting, depending on your health and financial situation. I ran calculations for myself and found that the break-even point where waiting until FRA made sense was around 82 years old. So if you don't expect to live past that age, taking it earlier could give you more lifetime benefits even with the WEP reduction. Just something to think about.

do u know if u paid into SS for those govt jobs? some govt jobs do pay into SS so maybe WEP wont affect u?? just checkin