I have read many posts here regarding SS and GPO. I am still somewhat confused so I apologize in advance if this has been specifically addressed before:
My wife is working as a teacher in GA (Gwinnett County) and covered by a State teacher’s pension and as the county pulled out of SS in the early 80’s she also has a county pension set up as a SS “replacement”. She has enough working time prior to the county pulling out of SS to qualify for benefits (separate question on WEP if she takes these benefits).
My question is would my wife qualify for GPO if she takes benefits as a spouse based on my benefits? Also does she need to wait till I reach my full SS retirement age to collect if she does qualify? (we are in our early 60’s). It appears her benefits would be significantly larger than the benefits she might receive on her own from SS after the WEP impact. I am just interested in determining if she would qualify based on my benefits; I can use the GPO calculator to determine the approximate amount she might receive.
Thanks for your help & advice!
My wife is working as a teacher in GA (Gwinnett County) and covered by a State teacher’s pension and as the county pulled out of SS in the early 80’s she also has a county pension set up as a SS “replacement”. She has enough working time prior to the county pulling out of SS to qualify for benefits (separate question on WEP if she takes these benefits).
My question is would my wife qualify for GPO if she takes benefits as a spouse based on my benefits? Also does she need to wait till I reach my full SS retirement age to collect if she does qualify? (we are in our early 60’s). It appears her benefits would be significantly larger than the benefits she might receive on her own from SS after the WEP impact. I am just interested in determining if she would qualify based on my benefits; I can use the GPO calculator to determine the approximate amount she might receive.
Thanks for your help & advice!