Salinas, CA Social Security Penalizes Those With A Public And Private Benefit Under The So Called Windfall Elimination Provision Or WEP
by Richard Kuehn on 12/12/14
The latest issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report brought up an important issue: Those with public pensions face reduced Social Security benefits. The article interviewed Jim Knight, a 68 year old man who filed for benefits at age 66. He started receiving payments of $1,000 per month. However, a year later when he started getting his teacher’s pension check, his monthly Social Security check dropped to $600 per month. “It’s unfair. That money is mine,” he told a reporter. Unfortunately, it is legal under the so-called “windfall elimination provision” or WEP which penalizes those who worked in the private and public sectors unless they have 30 years or more of substantial earnings or have a military pension. Sadly, some people get hit twice. If you are a public pensioner who applies for a spousal or survivor benefit, that too will be cut by two-thirds of the amount of the public pension.
