Will my government pension lump sum affect Social Security survivor benefits after reaching FRA?

same thing happened to my brother when he retired from state gov... they counted the lump sum and he lost benefits for like 2 months i think

To correctly answer your question, we need to distinguish between two issues: the earnings test and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). For the earnings test (which applies before FRA): If you're receiving survivor benefits before your FRA, any earnings from work over the annual limit ($22,320 in 2025) will reduce your benefits. However, a pension lump sum is generally NOT counted as earnings for this purpose because it's not tied to current work activity. For the GPO: This will reduce your survivor benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount, but this applies to your monthly pension payment, not the lump sum distribution. The lump sum itself doesn't trigger GPO, but your ongoing monthly pension payment will. I recommend calling SSA directly to verify your specific situation since there can be exceptions depending on how your pension structures the lump sum option.

WATCH OUT!! The SSA can treat lump sums differently depending on how they're documented!!! My cousin got his civil service retirement in Illinois and they DID count his lump sum - they converted it into a monthly amount and applied GPO to THAT FIGURE even though it was a one-time payment!! The rules are TOTALLY confusing and inconsistent!!

I dealt with exactly this when I retired from my county job in 2023. Here's what you need to know based on my experience: 1. First, check if your pension is from employment where you PAID Social Security taxes. If yes, GPO doesn't apply. If no (didn't pay SS taxes), then GPO will apply. 2. For your lump sum: SSA will likely prorate your lump sum as a monthly amount over your life expectancy, then apply GPO to that calculated monthly equivalent. They have a specific formula for this. 3. Request a detailed explanation IN WRITING from your pension administrator about how the lump sum is structured - this matters for how SSA will treat it. 4. You can also complete form SSA-131 (Employer Report of Special Wage Payments) to clarify that the lump sum isn't related to current work. I found that Claimyr.com really helped me get through to a knowledgeable SSA agent quickly when I needed to sort this out. Saved me hours of waiting on hold. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

i'm confused why everyone is talking about GPO when the question is about income limits?? aren't those different things? if ur at FRA already then income doesn't matter right?

My sister went through this exact situation last year. The SSA office in her area counted the lump sum as income for the month she received it. She got NO survivors benefits that month. Then it went back to normal the next month. But I heard different SSA offices handle it differently.

I remember reading somewhere that if you take a lump sum instead of monthly pension payments, the SSA has to calculate what your monthly payment would have been and then apply GPO to that amount. Might be worth asking your pension administrator if there's any way to structure the lump sum that minimizes this impact. Also, make sure to get everything documented really well before you contact SSA.

wait why are u taking survivors benefits if ur working? doesn't that mean ur husband passed? sorry if thats too personal just confused