Full question: Social Security said I’m not eligible for my deceased husbands benefit because I receive a pension from a government agency. We were married 53 years, and I am 71 and receive my own social security as well as the pension. Do I have grounds to appeal their decision?

Hi there,

There are two pension related rules that apply to your Social Security benefits.

The first, the Windfall Elimination Provision, WEP, applies to your own retirement benefit and reduces your amount depending on how many years of substantial earnings you have paid into Social Security. It does not ever reduce it to $0.

The second rule is the Government Pension Offset , GPO, rule and applies to a spouse or survivor benefit you you are entitled to. This is the rule that Social Security is referring to. Two-thirds of your pension is subtracted from your survivor benefit and that reduction is probably larger than your survivor benefit therefore reducing the amount to $0.

For more personalized advice, you may speak with an RSSA here.

Best of luck,
Martha

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