Will my tiny Social Security benefit increase after WEP reform law is signed?

The WEP reform legislation you're hearing about would likely increase your benefit, but don't expect anything dramatic. The proposed changes would replace the current arbitrary WEP formula with a proportional one that more fairly calculates benefits based on your actual earnings record. For someone with your history - minimal SS-covered employment and a full career in non-covered work - you might see an increase of 15-30%. So maybe an extra $30-65 monthly. Not life-changing but certainly helpful. Just remember that even if it passes, implementation will take time, likely 1-2 years before you'd see any increase.

My dad went thru this exact same thing!!! He was a firefighter for 28 yrs with city pension then got tiny SS from his second career. The WEP is so unfair!!!!

I work for a financial advisor who specializes in government pensions, and I can tell you the WEP reform has been proposed MANY times over the past decade with no success. Don't budget based on rumors. The current formula reduces your SS benefit by up to 50% of your first tier of AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings), maxing out at $534 reduction in 2025. Any reform would likely phase in slowly and primarily benefit future retirees, not current ones. Sorry to be pessimistic, but I've watched clients get their hopes up repeatedly.

I've been tracking this legislation closely because I'm in a similar situation (teacher pension from Ohio + small SS benefit). The latest version would phase in benefit increases over 10 years, with those already receiving benefits getting partial increases starting about 6 months after passage. The SSA would recalculate automatically - you wouldn't need to apply. For someone with minimal covered employment like you, the increase might be smaller than others, but it would still help. Call your representatives and tell them to support it!

MY WIFE HAS SAME PROBLEM!!! She taught for 29 years in California and gets only $186 from SS for her college jobs. Been waiting FOREVER for them to fix this!! What's the name of the new law so I can google it?

i tried calling SS last week to ask about this exact thing and spent 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected. their phone system is a nightmare! anyone know a better way to get through to a real person?

I hate to be "that person" but even if the law passes your increase will probably be minimal. I've been fighting with SSA about my WEP calculation for THREE YEARS and they always find some reason to deny giving me more money. The system is BROKEN and designed to steal benefits we EARNED. My congressman's office keeps saying "we're working on it" but nothing ever happens. Don't get your hopes up.

my moms friend said they are sending out letters next month to everyone who might get an increase! has anyone else heard about this?

After reading more details on the bill, I want to clarify something important: The proposed formula would give you credit for your non-covered earnings (your nursing job) but would still result in a proportionally reduced benefit. The good news is that the arbitrary WEP reduction would be replaced with a formula that treats everyone fairly based on their actual earnings history. But since your covered earnings were minimal, your increase would be at the lower end of the range. If you can access your SSA earnings record, I could give you a better estimate of the potential increase.

With earnings figures like that, I can give you a rough estimate. Under the proposed proportional formula, they would calculate your benefit as if all earnings were covered, then multiply by the proportion of covered to total earnings. With $58,500 covered out of $1,458,500 total (4% covered), your benefit would be approximately 4% of what you'd get if all earnings were covered. That's actually close to what you're getting now, so your increase might be modest - perhaps 10-15%. The people who benefit most from the reform are those with substantial covered earnings (10+ years) alongside their non-covered work.