Can both the WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduce my Social Security benefit?
Yes. Your Social Security retirement as well as your dependent/survivor benefit may be reduced if: • You have some SS-covered work and some non-SS-covered work, and • You are or were married. Example: During Tony’s career, she works both in the private sector in which she was covered by Social Security and for a school district in a non-SS position. Tony’s husband spends his entire career in SS-covered employment. Tony reaches the age at which she can draw a Social Security benefit. She goes to the local SSA office to apply for her benefits. Because of the WEP, Tony’s own Social Security benefit is reduced unless she had 30 or more years of Social Security coverage. Because of the GPO, Tony’s dependent benefit from her husband is either reduced or eliminated. If Tony had not worked in the non-SS-position for the school district, the reductions would not have applied.
