Full question: I’m a retired widow from City Government, and I received a pension for all the years I worked for them. They informed me I don’t qualify for my husband’s benefits because of my pension. I would like to know if this is correct. My husband contributed to Social Security for almost 50 years. After he passed away, I started getting 50% of his pension. Once I retired they dropped this benefit. Several people have mentioned to me that this doesn’t sound right. Can you please advise on this, I would really appreciate your input. Thank you very much.

Hi there,

I am assuming your pension from the city government is a non-covered pension (i.e., you didn’t pay Social Security payroll taxes while working there).

There is a rule called GPO, Government Pension Offset, which will affect any spousal or survivor benefits you are eligible for. The rule states that two-thirds of your non-covered pension amount will be subtracted from a spousal or survivor benefit. If your pension amount is high enough, it will offset your entire spousal or survivor benefits from Social Security.

We would need to know more details to give you a definitive answer. For personalized support, you can work with an RSSA here.

Take care,
Martha

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