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RUSSELL GLOOR: Ask Rusty - Avoiding WEP, GPO reductions
Russell Gloor, Guest columnist
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Russell Gloor, Ask RustyRussell Gloor
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
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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
Dear Rusty: I have read your answers to the commonly asked question of “When should I claim social security benefits.” You always say one should wait as long as possible (up to age 70) to get the maximum monthly benefit. But I have not seen you address the matter of all the money you could have collected if you start drawing sooner and how many years it will take, if you wait, to recoup all that money. I am now 64. I have always planned to wait.
Ask Rusty - Did My Wife Get A “Notch Baby” Benefit Increase?
AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor
Dear Rusty: I was born in May of 1930, and my wife was born in April 1931. My wife claims she received an increase in her Social Security benefit due to the “Notch Baby” provision. Is she correct about this? Signed: Inquisitive Husband
Dear Inquisitive: Allow me to clarify for you what your wife is referring to, and you can use your own judgement on how to present the information to her.
So-called “notch babies” are those Social Security recipients who were born between the years 1917 and 1921. Folks born in those years were affected by a Social Security issue which had to do with how Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) were computed. Here’s what happened: