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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Full question: If my spousal SS benefit is higher than SS benefit based on own contribution (> 40 credit) would a foreign pension of a country with a totalization agreement lower US social security benefits? Hi, That is a great question. Generally speaking, foreign pensions do not affect Social Security spousal and survivor dependent benefits….