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@abctax55 wrote:

 

His SS benefits have been cut in half because of his FD pension.

What he paid into SS for forty quarters wasn't 'cut in half' because he also worked for the Fire Dept.

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I am NOT arguing for or against it, but just giving an explanation of why WEP existed and why some feel it is double-dipping.

The thought and purpose of WEP is based on that his Social Security benefits are sort-of artificially high, which is why they lowered it.

If your husband paid into Social Security for 10 years, the calculation for benefits is still divided by 35 years.  That makes his "average" wage look really low.

When you look at the "PIA formula", it rewards low-income taxpayers by giving them a much higher percentage of their income.  Similar to tax brackets it is graduated (see link below):  90% benefit for the first bracket of income, then 32% for the mid-level bracket of income, and 15% for high-income bracket of income.

When you take 10 years of working and divide it by 35 years, it appears as low-income, so the benefits are largely based on the 90% benefit bracket and some in the 32% benefit bracket.  Which sort-of inflated the benefits.

In other words, the RATIO of the benefits compared to the amount paid-in is VERY high benefits compared with somebody with similar income that paid into Social Security their entire life.

WEP was the attempt to make it more 'fair' and minimize the 90% benefit bracket for people in that situation.

But as I said before, I am not arguing for or against it; I am just explaining why WEP came about and seems "fair" to some people.

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/piaformula.html