Anyone been affected by the windfall elimination provision of Social Security?

2018-08-26T01:43:15-04:00

Today I was informed by a friend that I will not receive full Social Security benefits if I did not put in a 30 years of substantial income. I put in 15 years of substantial income and about 6 years of part-time income before moving to Canada in 2006. Since 2006,I have probably put in one and a half years of substantial income since then being deployed. I do make about $12k a year from my drills with the USAR. Does anyone know the formula of how they prorate your Social Security benefits from what is posted on your yearly statement to what you actually get if you didn't do the 30 years required? Have any of you had this problem? One of my friends worked for a police department in California and he could not collect his full Social Security due to being paid by the public employees retirement system so he's only collecting about $200 from Social Security even though he did 5 years active duty(31 years total time in the RA and the USAR) in the army and he retired with about 4000 points total. He is receiving his regular army retirement.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Aug 26 at 2018 1:50 AM

2018-08-26T01:50:58-04:00

Welcome to POTUS Carter’s Civil Sevice adjustment ! My SS would be higher if I had not worked after age 35! TELL ME ! LTC Private RallyPoint Member I often tell myself that the adjustment is helping ‘other people’ less fortunate than myself who met different criteria for benefits!!

Response by PO3 John Wagner made Aug 26 at 2018 7:01 AM

2018-08-26T07:01:19-04:00

I am wondering if your friend isn't an idiot. Your 40 top QUARTERS used to be the rule.
I believe it still is. You and I don't notice quarterly payments...or at least I didn't used to.. but employers make them.
The penalty for failing to make quarterly payments is significant. My brothers accountant screwed up and filed a day late..his fault..my brother had to pay a $5,000 fine, he only runs a relatively small business.
So Steve, I think it is still the fourty top quarters. As to a windfall issue? I would think that it wouldn't matter. Social security taxes are only collected up to $110,000 I believe. If the rule follows a quarterly formula.. and I think it does because I got a large refund of self employment tax one year which didn't make sense to me.
My father was IRS. He didn't spend any time teaching me anything but I picked up some along the way.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Aug 26 at 2018 9:33 AM

2018-08-26T09:33:27-04:00

I actually have never heard of the 30 year rule. I know that some U.S. Retirement systems exempt you from Social Security because they existed prior to the formation of Social Security. Most notably is the Railroad Retirement system. However if your excluded from SS payout your also excluded from SS pay-in or premiums. So the Police Officer on his public employee pension, he probably did not pay into SS at the same time he was paying into his public pension and it should have been apparent on his paycheck stub. Other than that.......beats me on your issue. Sorry I couldn't help.