Will new Social Security bill affect WEP/GPO reduction on survivor benefits with TRS pension?

my aunt went thru this last yr and got hit hard by GPO... its so unfair!! she worked 30 yrs as a teacher and lost most of her widow benefits when she took her pension. didnt even know about it til it happened

Unfortunately, the bill you're referring to is likely the Social Security Fairness Act which has been introduced multiple times over the years but hasn't passed yet. The current version (H.R. 82) has bipartisan support but still faces budget hurdles. It would eliminate both the WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset). Your situation is specifically affected by GPO, which reduces survivor benefits by 2/3 of your non-covered pension (TRS). The WEP would affect your own SS retirement benefits when you claim those. I wouldn't recommend delaying your TRS based solely on hoping this legislation will pass. These bills have been introduced for many years without success. It's better to plan based on current law while staying informed about any changes.

The whole WEP/GPO system is BROKEN! My wife worked as a school administrator for 25 years and lost THOUSANDS in SS benefits she earned from her previous job. They're basically STEALING our money and nobody in Congress cares enough to fix it. This isn't just affecting a few people - it's hurting MILLIONS of teachers, firefighters, police officers who dedicated their lives to public service!!!

To answer your question about estimating the reduction: you can calculate it by taking 2/3 of your monthly TRS pension amount, and that's how much will be deducted from your survivor benefit. For example, if your TRS pension will be $3,000/month, then $2,000 would be deducted from your survivor benefit. If your full survivor benefit is less than that deduction amount, you might not receive any survivor benefits at all. I'd recommend requesting a benefits estimate from both SSA and your TRS to get the exact figures for your situation.

I went through this exact situation last year. Worked 30 years for the school district and collected survivor benefits from my husband. What no one tells you is that you should schedule an appointment with SSA *before* you start your TRS pension. I made the mistake of just assuming things would adjust automatically, and ended up with an overpayment notice because they kept paying my full survivor benefit for 4 months after my pension started. I tried calling SSA for weeks and couldn't get through. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in about 30 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration and I got the overpayment sorted out before it got worse.

wait i'm confused. isn't WEP different from GPO? my uncle had WEP and he still got some of his SS benefits but they were reduced because of his federal pension. i think GPO is for spouse benefits?? anyone know for sure??

I've been following the Social Security Fairness Act closely. There was some movement on it earlier this year, but it stalled again. The main issue is that it would cost billions to implement, so they keep kicking the can down the road. One thing I'd suggest - contact your representative in Congress. The more of us who speak up about the unfairness of WEP/GPO, the better chance we have of seeing change. There are advocacy groups for teachers specifically focused on this issue that you might want to join as well.

My mom just went through this when she retired from teaching last yr. Make sure you report your pension to SS as soon as you start receiving it! They don't automatically know.

have u checked if ur eligible for any exemptions? i think if u were getting SS spouse benefits before 2004 there's some kind of exception. my neighbor mentioned something about that