NCPSSM :: Ask Mary Jane :: Archive of Questions and Answers

Q.	Do pension offsets apply only to federal government pensions or also to state, county, and city pensions?
A.	The Government Pension Offset of spouse and widow benefits applies to any public employment that was not covered by Social Security. The pension received could be from local, state or Federal employment. In contrast, the Windfall Elimination Provision that reduces an individual's own Social Security if he or she also earned an annuity from non-Social Security employment applies to any employment that was not covered by Social Security.
Q.	I have received contradictory advice. I am 65 and am still working but understand from my Social Security office that the Government Pension Offset applies to my widow benefit even though I have not retired from my government job. My co-worker receives her spousal benefit and tells me she won't lose it until she retirees. Who is right?
A.	The Government Pension Office begins when a government retiree is eligible to receive a monthly pension check for public employment that was not covered by Social Security. You cannot receive your government pension until you retire. Since you are 65 and still working, apply immediately for your widow benefit. With repeal of the earnings limitation you are entitled to your widow benefit without regard to your earnings. When you retire, your widow benefit will be reduced by two-thirds of your government annuity. If two-thirds of your annuity exceeds your widow benefit, no further Social Security will be paid. The same advice applies to over-age-65 spouses and to government workers who are eligible for their own Social Security based on non-government employment. These workers can receive their full Social Security determined without the Government Pension Offset or the Windfall Elimination reduction that will be applicable when they retire and become entitled to their government annuity.
Q.	I had my 40 quarters of Social Security over 30 years ago. I have since worked for a municipality and am receiving a pension from work that was not covered by Social Security. I find I cannot collect any Social Security because of my public employment.
A.	That is not correct. No worker who is fully insured for Social Security retirement benefits (i.e. has 40 or more quarters of Social Security covered earnings) is denied a Social Security benefit at retirement age. The Social Security Act's Windfall Elimination Provision reduces a monthly check, but does not eliminate it.
Q.	I was born in April 1944. I want to know when I could start collecting Social Security? Also, I have been told because I have a state retirement, my Social Security benefit will be reduced. I would like to know why.
A.	Under current law, you will be eligible to apply for a reduced Social Security benefit at age 62. That has not changed. What is changing is the age for receipt of an unreduced benefit. The age for a full benefit is rising from 65 to 66 at the rate of two months each year beginning with workers and spouses born in 1938 who must be 65 years and two months for a full benefit. Workers and spouses born in 1939 must wait until 65 years and four months; 1940, 65 years and six months, etc. When the age for receipt of full benefits rises to 66, it will remain at that age for 11 years before it again begins to rise from 66 to 67 at the two-months-a-year rate. A worker born in 1937 or earlier who begins benefits exactly at age 62 receives a 20 percent reduction in his full benefit. Because you were born in 1944, your full benefit will be reduced 25 percent if you begin benefits as soon as you are eligible. If your state employment was not covered by Social Security, the Windfall Elimination Provision of Social Security law requires that your own Social Security benefit be computed by a reduced benefit formula unless you have at least 30 years of substantial Social Security earnings. For information about this provision, go on-line to the Social Security Administration's web site at http://www.ssa.gov/ Click on "publications" and review the fact sheet entitled "A Pension From Work Not Covered By Social Security." If the Social Security benefit to which you refer is a spouse or widow(er) benefit, you will be subject to an offset if your state employment was not covered by Social Security. For further information read the Social Security Administration fact sheet "Government Pension Offset."
Q.	My wife receives a small public pension. She worked as a part-time cook for a local school system where she earned approximately $160 per month. Does an offset apply to her Social Security spouse benefit? I have provided the majority of the income and support while she worked? Or does the offset apply regardless of income? Does the offset apply to a widow with a public pension? I have been unable to find anyone at Social Security who can verify the applicable section of the statute. Please help clarify!
A.	Your wife's Social Security spouse or widow benefit (based on your Social Security earnings record) is subject to the Government Pension Offset provision. That provision, enacted in 1977, is Section 202(g)4 of the Social Security Act. The fact that you have always been the family's primary wage earner is not a consideration. The Government Pension Offset requires that any spouse or widow benefit otherwise payable be reduced by two-thirds of any pension received from public employment that was not covered by Social Security. In many instances, Social Security spouse or widow benefits are totally offset. For more information about the offset, go on line to the Social Security Administration at http://www.SSA.gov , click on publications and review the Fact Sheet entitled "Government Pension Offset."