WEP is Eliminated!

Last night, the Senate voted to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This may mean hundreds of dollars more in monthly social security benefits for families that also have a Canada Pension. In this video, we discuss:
- The Social Security Fairness Act
- How WEP and GPO impact families with a Canada Pension
- What is next for WEP
- What we still don't know

Follow our page for more updates on the repeal of WEP.

[tomyeek]

I received my WEP retroactive payment today!

[kellyscott]

As someone impacted by WEP I'm looking forward to updates.

[GrikWorldNomad]

Thanks Bryan, appreciate the quick and detailed update. Since it took SSA 20 months to process my 308 form, SSA only just began deducting WEP retroactively on my CPP benefits. I will comment here and on your website when SSA sorts it out. Thanks again, and happy holidays to you and fam. Rick Ellis

[fremontpathfinder]

When I retire I will get 600 dollars more thanks to the repeal of WEP.

[jennifermiller]

Thanks for explaining. I'm a U.S. teacher with 40 credits into social security, and my spouse moved here from Canada 12 years ago and has been working ever since. So this is great news for us.

[kpollock]

Great news and another great video! Thanks, Bryan

[susieq]

Long time coming. Thankful to get what I am owed. I have been cheated out of 21 years of SSA benefits. Apparently the negative comments do not know what they are talking about and what is meant by SSA fairness Act. Do your homework before replying negatively.

[Lori]

I am affected by WEP. I am glad I am finally get what I am owed. I paid into SS. Did they penalize people, in the private sector?

[AllenReinecke]

I have pensions from the UK as well as US SS.

I filed my WEP paperwork 1.5 years ago and am still waiting on a decision, and the $480 WEP reduction. So, I technically owe thousands of dollars to-date!

I hope WEP is fully eliminated for those of us with foreign pensions. It's a very unfair system when we worked hard to prepare for our retirement, only to be told we aren't allowed to have too much retirement income. 🤬

[dantaylor]

I'm so glad it passed I worked and paid into SS for 23y and I paid into a pension for 22y and my SS is reduced by about 500 per month just because I have a pension, people are penalized for working in public sector and have been for 40 years, what did they do with all that money, if the wealthy would have to pay their fair share of taxes that would fix SS

[rosemountbomber]

Great video and information Mr. Haggard. I wish the threshold was just 30 years of work history in the U.S. Rather it is 30 years of creditable earnings. Having worked in the U.S. for 40 years I only have 28 years of creditable earnings. In my early years in small business in a small town, a number of lean years meant earnings slightly below the threshold. It would seem to me, in a sense of fairness, that 12 working years of just barely missing the threshold could be set to equal 2 years of creditable earnings, hence reaching the 30 year creditable earnings requirement. But I can't complain too loudly as I realize rules have to be made for the entirety of the population and not done on an individual basis. Hopefully the final revisions to the SS Fairness Act do not exclude foreign pensions when it comes to eliminating the WEP. Thank you for all you do.

[judyblackwell]

So if I have 40 credits for SS in the US, and contributed to CPP as well, but have not yet applied for either, will the new ACT eliminate the reduction of my SS when I do apply?

[lindawilson]

How do they figure how much additional

[VictorVargasJr-hn]

How does this affect people who retired, and collected this year? Just because there's no jobs paying enough to live?... With a small pension as well... that's still barely enough to pay rent and groceries..let alone bills?

[vzuqknk]

It is my understanding that based on the bill that was passed, this law would back date to 1-01-24 with current SS affected payees receiving retroactive payments back to this date.
Future retirees would not be penalized as WEP/GPO will no longer apply.

[ronchiu]

We contributed to the CPP before we have status in the US. 1 - CPP reduces our Social Security. 2 - US federal tax on the CPP goes into the Social Security bucket. Double whammy.

[abalderson]

While I'm disappointed by what this change means for both the ability of our politicians (and the electorate in general) having the capacity to understand what WEP was attempting to correct for (progressive payouts based on lifetime average incomes, resulting in higher payouts than were earned), I'm pleased because I benefit personally from this bad decision. It's just really unfortunate that so few seem to understand what a bad idea WEP repeal is, reform would be the right and fair choice.

[Bob-o]

This guy doesn't know what he is talking about. Those of us who paid Social Security on ALL of our wages do not receive a benefit equal to what these people will get. By not including their non Social Security income it means they will receive much more in Social Security benefits than those of us who have all of our income used in the calculations.

[MorzhSD]

What a horrible idea.
Brings bankrupcy of social security closer.
Is totally unfair because social security is super progressive you get much higher pecentage on first dollar of pensionable earning than on the last
Thus 20 years of Social Secirity contributions plus 20 years of similar another pension is much higher than 40 years of social security