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Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

You may be eligible for a pension based on work you did for a federal, state, or local government, a nonprofit organization, or in another country. If you did not pay Social Security taxes on your earnings, this pension can affect the amount of your Social Security benefits. We refer to this reduction as the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP.

If you paid Social Security taxes on 30 years of substantial earnings, WEP does not apply to you.

You may be eligible for a pension based on work you did for a federal, state, or local government, a nonprofit organization, or in another country. If you did not pay Social Security taxes on your earnings, this pension can affect the amount of your Social Security benefits. We refer to this reduction as the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP.

If you paid Social Security taxes on 30 years of substantial earnings, WEP does not apply to you.

Our WEP fact sheet explains if WEP may affect you.

How WEP Can Affect Your Benefit

If you think your pension will affect your Social Security benefit, you can:

WEP Examples

The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces your Eligibility Year (ELY) benefit amount before it is reduced or increased due to certain factors. These may include early retirementdelayed retirement creditscost-of-living adjustments (COLA), or other factors. The following examples show how the WEP reduction changes when other factors affect the ELY benefit.

Retirement Examples

The monthly retirement benefits are increased or reduced based on your age after WEP reduces your ELY benefit.

If you turn 62 in 2023 (ELY 2023) and you have 20 years of substantial earnings, WEP reduces your monthly benefit by $557. (Refer to the chart below.)

Your full retirement age is 67. If your full retirement benefit is $1,396, your ELY benefit after the WEP reduction would be $839 ($1,396 – $557).*

If You Choose Early Retirement

If you decide to start retirement benefits the month you turn 62, you will get benefits before you reach full retirement age. We reduce your monthly benefit to 70% because you will get benefits for 60 additional months.

Your age 62 retirement benefit is $587 ($839 x 70% = $587) per month. If your full retirement benefit had not been reduced by WEP, your age 62 retirement benefit would have been $977.