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I only have 29 work credits. Should I create self-earned income to earn the 40 credits?

Full question: Hello. I am 48 years old. I currently only have 29 credits towards my benefits. I live overseas and have been filing my taxes using the foreign earned income exclusion so I almost never pay into the system. Is it in my best interests to create the minimum amount of self-earned income to…

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Will my benefit be reduced based on my foreign pension?

Full question: I worked in Sweden 21 years before coming to America. I have full credits to qualify for each independently. My Swedish earning were not used to calculate my benefit amount for SS, only my US earnings. But my benefit has been reduced based on my Swedish pension. Is this correct? Hi there, We…

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Does WEP apply to my foreign pension?

Full question: Is my social security benefit wrongly reduced for WEP? I am retired and my benefit subjected for WEP, but there is no totalization agreement with Turkey where I worked before moving to USA. Does WEP still apply? Hi, Thank you for the question. Yes, the WEP rule still applies to if you are…

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Is a French Pension subject to the GPO for spousal or survivor benefits?

Full question: The French pension is composed of the State pension plus what we called the Agirc Arco points.Are these money points subject to GPO when you get spousal or widow Social Security? Hi there, Thank you for your question about the Government Pension Offset, GPO rule. This rule applies to dependent benefits such as…

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Will my wife’s non-covered foreign pension be subject to the GPO?

Full question: My wife is Italian and will collect a work pension from a UK University which is non-covered, in terms of Social Security. I collect SS benefits for about 19 years of covered work in the US. Will my wife’s non-covered University pension be subject to GPO, and so reduced? Hello, Thank you for…

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We are dual US-UK citizens. What benefits are we eligible for under the totalization agreement?

Full question: My husband and I are dual US-UK citizens living in the UK since 1996. We are unable to forecast my husband’s retirement benefit, as the SSA online tools only provide for citizens who have earned a minimum of 40 credits and need to calculate WEP. In my husband’s case, he did not earn…

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