Ask Rusty – Avoiding WEP & GPO Reductions
AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor Association of Mature American Citizens
Dear Rusty: I am a retired Texas teacher receiving my State pension. I retired in February 2009, before the end of a “loophole” which affected my future Social Security. I had earned enough credits to receive Social Security benefits in addition to my Teachers Retirement System (TRS) pension. At 62 I began getting my SS benefit (reduced by my TRS pension).
My husband didn t start his SS until last year, at which time I contacted Social Security so my benefits would no longer be reduced as per the TRS loophole. I have spoken with the local SS office three times and sent them the documents requested, but my SS payment remains the same! How do I bypass the local office to get my benefit increased to the amount I was told when I retired under this Texas loophole? Signed: Wanting My Increase
Ask Rusty – How Will My Wife’s Benefits Be Affected by My State Pension?
AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor Association of Mature American Citizens
Dear Rusty: I am 73 and receive a pension from my state’s Police and Fire Pension Fund. I took a full pension, so my wife only gets a widow’s pension when I die, and this is only a fraction of what my full pension is. I also get a small Social Security benefit, about $95 a month, and that amount is pro-rated because of the amount of my state pension. My wife is 71 and receives a Social Security benefit of about $600 a month. When I die, can she get a portion of my Social Security benefit? And will it increase since she will not be getting my full state pension? Signed: Retired Public Servant
John Grimaldi
“We’re not giving up on our efforts to eliminate the unfair income tax on Social Security benefits. The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act is being reintroduced and the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC] will be doing what it takes to encourage lawmakers to support the measure,” says Bob Carlstrom, president of AMAC Action, the association’s senior advocacy affiliate.
The original Social Security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits were specifically exempted from income taxes when they were created in the mid-1930s. “After all, workers pay for them with taxes that are taken out of their paychecks to begin with. To tax retired seniors a second time is plain and simple a money grab.”