Many retirees and workers nearing retirement often hear about WEP Social Security and wonder how it affects their benefits.
WEP stands for the Windfall Elimination Provision, a rule that reduces Social Security payments for people who also receive a pension from employment not covered by Social Security.
Understanding WEP Social Security is important for teachers, public employees, and workers with mixed employment histories.
What is WEP Social Security?
The question what is WEP Social Security is common among workers who split their careers between jobs covered by Social Security and jobs that are not.
WEP is a federal law passed in 1983 that changes the formula used to calculate Social Security retirement or disability benefits.
It was designed to prevent people from receiving a “windfall” by drawing a full Social Security benefit in addition to a pension from non-covered employment, such as certain state, local, or federal jobs.
Who does WEP Social Security apply to?
WEP applies to anyone who receives a pension from work not covered by Social Security taxes, like many government jobs, and who also qualifies for Social Security from other employment.
For example, a teacher with a state pension but who also worked long enough in the private sector to qualify for Social Security may see reduced benefits under WEP.
How does WEP Social Security reduce benefits?
The next concern is how does WEP Social Security reduce benefits.
Normally, Social Security uses a formula that replaces a higher percentage of income for low earners.
However, without WEP, workers with pensions from uncovered jobs could appear as “low earners” in the Social Security system, even though they had other income.
WEP adjusts the formula so that the first part of the benefit calculation is lower, which reduces the monthly payment.
How much can WEP Social Security reduce benefits?
A common question is how much WEP can reduce Social Security benefits.
The maximum reduction in 2025 is capped at $587 per month, though the actual amount depends on the number of years someone paid Social Security taxes.
The more years of “substantial earnings” in covered employment a worker has, the smaller the reduction.
With 30 years or more of substantial covered earnings, WEP does not apply at all.
Does WEP Social Security affect spousal or survivor benefits?
Another concern is does WEP Social Security affect spousal or survivor benefits.
WEP directly affects only the worker’s own retirement or disability benefits. It does not reduce survivor benefits paid to a widow, widower, or children.
However, another rule called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) may reduce spousal or survivor benefits separately.
People often confuse WEP and GPO, but they operate differently.
Can WEP Social Security be avoided or reduced?
Many workers ask can WEP Social Security be avoided or reduced.
While WEP cannot usually be eliminated, it can be reduced if the worker has more years of substantial covered earnings.
For example, someone with 25 years of Social Security-covered work faces a smaller reduction than someone with only 15 years.
Planning to work longer in covered employment may help lessen the impact.
Some reform bills have also been proposed in Congress to change or repeal WEP, but as of now, it remains in effect.
How do workers know if WEP Social Security will affect them?
Finally, people want to know how do workers know if WEP Social Security will affect them.
The Social Security Administration includes WEP notices on benefit statements for workers who may be impacted.
Reviewing pension eligibility and Social Security records can help identify whether WEP applies.
The SSA also provides online calculators that estimate benefits with and without WEP.
Talking to a financial advisor or the Social Security office can clarify how much the rule will affect retirement income.
