Subscribe
Advertisement
  • Subscribe To The Enterprise
  • Contact Us
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
Print Editions
The Enterprise
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Education
    • Family
    • Community Calendar
    • Neighborhood News
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Spiritual
    • Southern Baptist
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
  • eEnterprise
  • Legals
  • Contact
  • Account
  • Login
  • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Education
    • Family
    • Community Calendar
    • Neighborhood News
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Spiritual
    • Southern Baptist
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
  • eEnterprise
  • Legals
  • Contact
  • Account
  • Login
  • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
The Enterprise
No Result
View All Result

Social Security Matters

Enterprise by Enterprise
July 22, 2020
in Opinions
0
0
SHARES
4
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor

Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – Why Won’t Social Security Give Me My Widow’s Benefit?

 

Dear Rusty: I have been a widow since November 2019. I retired under the Federal Civil Service Retirement System. Before my husband died, I made an appointment with Social Security to see if I could receive his Social Security if he passed on. I was told I could. Since he passed, Social Security has adamantly refused to let me have my husband’s Social Security. I have had many problems with them. Who is correct here? I have lost $1400 per month. My social security check is about $126 per month. Signed: Frustrated Widow

 

Dear Frustrated Widow: First, please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband. Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for you.

Because of your Federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension, you are subject to the “Government Pension Offset” (GPO) provision of Social Security. The GPO reduces the survivor benefit for anyone who also has a pension from an employer which did not participate in Social Security (neither the employer or the employee paid into Social Security), and your Federal CSRS pension falls into this category. GPO reduces any survivor benefit you might otherwise be entitled to by 2/3rds of the amount of your CSRS pension, which often eliminates the survivor benefit. For clarity, GPO also applies to a Social Security benefit from a living spouse.

As you probably already know, your CSRS pension caused your own Social Security benefit, earned from other work outside of your Federal employment, to be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Unfortunately, whoever you previously spoke with at the Social Security Administration prior to your husband’s death gave you some incorrect information, because you are also subject to the GPO. And that is why Social Security will not now pay you a survivor benefit from your husband.

I’m afraid you have no recourse on this, as both the GPO and WEP have been the law for decades. The Federal Government has now changed to a “Federal Employee Retirement System” (FERS) which fully participates in Social Security (both employees and the employer contribute to Social Security), so more recent Federal retirees are not subject to the WEP and GPO rules. But there are still many U.S. State and local government employers which, to varying degrees, do not participate in Social Security and whose employees are still impacted by both GPO and WEP.

(This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory or email ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.)

 

 

Sign up for our free newsletter

Enter your email address to join our weekly newsletter.

You will receive a confirmation email for your subscription. Please check your inbox and spam folder to complete the confirmation process.
Some fields are missing or incorrect!
Lists
Previous Post

Pets of the Week

Next Post

“Empty Yourself So God Can Fill You”- Acts 6

Next Post
A Church Culture Without Absolutes

“Empty Yourself So God Can Fill You”- Acts 6

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Sign up now to get weekly top stories, eEdition notifications, deals and more from The Enterprise right to your inbox.
  • Subscribe
  • Contact The Enterprise
  • eEnterprise
  • My Account

  • Login
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
body::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 7px; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-track { border-radius: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { border-radius: 50px; background: #dfdbdb }
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Education
    • Family
    • Community Calendar
    • Neighborhood News
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Spiritual
    • Southern Baptist
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
  • eEnterprise
  • Legals
  • Contact
  • Account
  • Login
  • FAQ