Will my federal pension reduce my Social Security benefits even though I paid into both systems?

If you're under FERS and have been paying Social Security taxes throughout your federal employment, you generally won't be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The WEP primarily affects people who worked in jobs not covered by Social Security (like CSRS employees). Regarding the earnings limit - your pension doesn't count toward the Social Security earnings limit. The limit only applies to actual wages or self-employment income. Pension payments, investment income, and other unearned income don't count toward this limit. However, your Social Security benefit might still be reduced by a different provision called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) if you're eligible for Social Security spousal or survivor benefits. The GPO can reduce those benefits by two-thirds of your government pension.

ur advisor is WRONG! I retired from post office (FERS) and get FULL social security plus my pension. They don't effect each other AT ALL!!!! The WEP is only 4 CSRS employees not FERS! I know bcuz I get both checks every month.

I went through this exact situation last year and spent HOURS on the phone with Social Security trying to get answers. Since you're in FERS and have been paying into Social Security throughout your government career, the WEP doesn't apply to you. Your own earned Social Security benefit will not be reduced because of your FERS pension. However, as someone mentioned, the GPO could affect spousal or survivor benefits. This caught me by surprise because many HR specialists don't explain this properly. By the way, if you're struggling to get through to someone at SSA to discuss your specific situation, I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at Social Security in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration when I was trying to sort out these pension questions!

Everyone keeps talking about WEP and GPO but nobody's explaining how the earnings limit actually works! I'm also retiring soon and confused. So the pension doesn't count for the earnings limit, but what if you work part-time after claiming SS early? How much can you make?

As someone who navigated this exact scenario, let me clear up a common misunderstanding: FERS and Social Security are designed to work together, unlike the older CSRS system. Your FERS pension will NOT trigger the Windfall Elimination Provision because you've been paying into Social Security throughout your government career. This is a critical distinction between FERS and CSRS. The earnings limit question is also important - your pension income does NOT count toward the Social Security earnings limit. Only wages from actual employment or self-employment count. However, if you'll be receiving Social Security benefits as a spouse or survivor (rather than your own work record), the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will reduce those benefits by 2/3 of your FERS pension. This often catches people by surprise. I recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA about 3-6 months before your planned retirement to get a personalized calculation of how these provisions might affect you.

One additional point I should clarify - if you qualify for Social Security on your own work record AND as a spouse, you don't receive both benefits added together. SSA pays your own benefit first, and then adds an additional amount if the spousal benefit would be higher. With GPO, your spousal benefit would be reduced by 2/3 of your FERS pension. In many cases, this means the spousal benefit is completely eliminated because your own benefit plus the small remaining spousal amount (after GPO reduction) is less than your own benefit alone. There's no way around GPO - it's written into the law. The only exception would be if you worked 5 years in a job where you paid both full Social Security taxes AND full pension contributions (which is already the case for your FERS position).

my sister worked for the state for 15 years and she got hit HARD by wep even tho she had 20+ years in the private sector too. lost almost $600/month in SS benefits. totally unfair system!!!!

Has anyone here actually gone through this process recently? I'm in a similar situation (FERS, retiring next year) and every person I talk to at Social Security gives me different information! Last week, one rep told me my FERS pension WOULD reduce my Social Security through WEP, then I called back and another one said it wouldn't. So confused and frustrated!!