SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS ARE REDUCED FOR SLMPD OFFICERS


If you receive a non-Social Security Pension (like St Louis City Police Officers and Fire Fighters) your Social Security is affected by 2 different federal laws – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).


The WEP – Your Social Security retirement or disability benefits may be reduced

If you work for an employer who does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such as a government agency or an employer in another country, the ­pension you get based on that work may reduce your Social Security benefits.

The Windfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement or disability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work where Social Security taxes were not taken out of your pay. A modified formula is used to calculate your benefit amount, resulting in a lower Social Security ­benefit than you otherwise would receive.

When your benefits may be affected

The Windfall Elimination Provision primarily affects you if you earned a pension in any job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit.

For example, this provision affects Social Security ­benefits when any part of a person’s service after 1956 is covered under the Police or Fire Retirement Systems. However,  service where Social Security taxes are withheld (secondary & post SLMPD & SLFD employment) will not reduce your Social Security benefit amounts. The Windfall Elimination Provision may apply if:

    * You reached 62 after 1985; or  * You became disabled after 1985; and

    * You first became eligible for a monthly pension based on work where you did not pay Social Security taxes after 1985, even if you are still working.

Why a different formula is used

Social Security benefits are intended to replace only a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement earnings. The way Social Security benefit amounts are figured, lower-paid workers get a higher return than highly paid workers. For example, lower-paid workers could get a Social Security benefit that equals about 55 percent of their pre-retirement earnings. The average replacement rate for highly paid workers is about 25 percent.

Before 1983, people who worked mainly in a job not covered by Social Security had their Social Security benefits calculated as if they were long-term, low-wage workers. They had the advantage of receiving a Social Security benefit representing a higher percentage of their earnings, plus a pension from a job where they did not pay Social Security taxes. Congress passed the Windfall Elimination Provision to remove that advantage.

GPO–A law that affects spouses and widows or widowers

If you receive a pension from a federal, state or local government based on work where you did not pay Social Security taxes, your Social Security spouse’s or widow’s or widower’s benefits may be reduced. This fact sheet provides answers to questions you may have about the reduction.

How much will my Social Security benefits be reduced?

Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your government pension. In other words, if you get a monthly civil service pension of $600, two-thirds of that, or $400, must be deducted from your Social Security benefits. For example, if you are eligible for a $500 spouse’s, widow’s or widower’s benefit from Social Security, you will receive $100 per month from Social Security ($500 – $400 = $100).

If you take your government pension annuity in a lump sum, Social Security still will calculate the reduction as if you chose to get monthly benefit payments from your government work.


 Calculate Your Reduced Social Security Benefit with the On-Line WEP Calculator


More information on the WEP          More information on the GPO