Will my Social Security benefits change at 67 with WEP if I'm getting a government pension?

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) doesn't automatically change when you reach your Full Retirement Age. The WEP reduction that was calculated when you first claimed at 62 will continue, although the amount you receive will increase because you'll no longer have the early filing reduction penalty that applies before FRA. The WEP reduces your Social Security benefit if you receive a pension from work where you didn't pay Social Security taxes (like many government jobs), but it doesn't eliminate your benefit entirely. What will change at 67 is that you'll get the full benefit amount after the WEP reduction - you won't have the additional early filing reduction anymore. When you took benefits at 62, you would have received approximately 70% of your WEP-adjusted benefit. At 67, you'll receive 100% of your WEP-adjusted benefit. Also, if you had more than 20 years of "substantial earnings" where you paid into Social Security, the WEP reduction is less severe. At 30+ years of substantial earnings, WEP doesn't apply at all.

when i turned 67 last yr my ss check went up by about $320. i also have a state pension & the WEP thing. they dont tell u nothing abt any of this stuff when u sign up!!! its crazy how they expect people to understand all this goverment red tape!!

The WEP is such a confusing provision! I spent hours trying to understand how it works when my husband retired from his county job. From what I remember, the WEP reduction is calculated once when you first apply and doesn't change at Full Retirement Age. But your benefit amount WILL increase at 67 because the early retirement reduction falls away. Here's what happened with my husband: He claimed at 63, got a reduced benefit that was also subject to WEP (he had a pension from 22 years of county employment). When he hit his FRA at 66 (this was before they raised it to 67), his check went up by about 20% because the early claiming reduction disappeared, but the WEP reduction stayed the same. Hope that helps with your budgeting!

One aspect that hasn't been mentioned yet is that you should verify if you're subject to WEP, GPO (Government Pension Offset), or both. They're different provisions affecting government pensioners. WEP affects your own SS retirement benefits if you have a government pension. GPO affects any spousal or survivor benefits you might be eligible for. Since you mentioned a 457 plan specifically, I should point out that not all government pensions trigger WEP. It specifically applies to pensions earned from work not covered by Social Security. Some government employees are covered by both their pension system AND Social Security. In those cases, WEP doesn't apply. You might want to request a detailed benefit calculation from SSA to confirm exactly how your benefit was calculated and what will happen at FRA. Try using the WEP calculator on the SSA website: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/anyPiaWepjs04.html

DONT GET ME STARTED ON WEP!!! Its basicaly THEFT by the goverment!!! I worked 40 years total, 18 in private sector paying SS taxes and 22 for the county. Got my full pension but then they SLASHED my Social Security by almost HALF!!! Its not right and there should be a law against it. We earned BOTH benefits fair and square!!!

I've been trying to reach someone at Social Security to explain my WEP situation for 3 weeks now. Been calling daily, getting disconnected or waiting on hold for hours only to be told I need to speak to a different department. It's maddening! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. They have this callback system that somehow jumps the phone queue. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with explained my WEP calculation in detail and confirmed exactly what would happen when I reach my full retirement age. Worth every penny to finally get a clear answer instead of guessing or relying on what I read online.

Does anyone know if there's still talk in Congress about getting rid of WEP? I remember hearing something about a bill to reform or eliminate it a couple years ago but never heard what happened with that.

Update: I finally got through to Social Security! The representative confirmed what many of you said - my benefit will increase at 67 because the early claiming reduction will be removed, but the WEP reduction stays the same. In my case, she said my benefit should increase by about $275 per month. That's a significant boost for my budget, so I'm relieved! She also explained that since I have 12 years of substantial earnings, my WEP reduction is a bit less than the maximum. Thanks everyone for your help!