SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
May 18th 2010, 2:47 pm
#17
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
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Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
Ian
May 18th 2010, 4:47 pm
#18
Concierge
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,390
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
Not sure if you can interchange the countries as such as Canada and the US do not have the same treaties in place as the US/UK have.
Look up the Canadian pensions/old age benefits on the SSA site. In particular look for CCP.
Jul 26th 2010, 1:02 pm
#19
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Posts: 3
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
We just returned from the SSA office to file for Jim's retirement benefits. Seems that he will lose a substantial part of his US social security benefits because he is getting old age benefits from the Canadian government. Doesn't mean squat that he worked in both countries and paid into both systems. Not allowed to collect full from both. Full from one and partial from the other. It sucks.
Outrageous! I am in the same situation. Does US government deduct ENTIRE amount of UK Pension?
Jul 26th 2010, 1:13 pm
#20
Concierge
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,390
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
No clue as to the UK aspect of it. All I know is the Canadian pension/old age benefit regulations of the SSA. DH was to receive $745 a month, due to the Windfall Act, he is know only getting $331 a month before deduction for Part B Medicare. Very unfair because he paid into both his military pension in Canada and his old age benefits in Canada.
Jul 26th 2010, 6:11 pm
#21
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Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,543
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
Trying to think through the logic & justice of this from the point of view of the SSA, my assumption is that it runs along these lines. (Here I'm just thinking about Social Security and UK Old Age Pension, not about government pensions that come with government employment.) ---
A full working and contributing life could be 50 years or more. For instance, even if you are in full-time education from age 16 to age 26, you could easily have been working enough evenings, vacations etc. to qualify for those years with the SSA. Both the British and US systems, different though they are in many ways, take just 30 years as qualifying you for full (the highest available) pension. Not sure how the UK system works, but in the US they take your 30 best years, I believe. So if you work in just the US, the most you can possibly get is $28,000 per annum (just for the sake of argument - I made up that number.) But, if you worked 25 years in America and 25 years in Britain, You might qualify for $22,000 per annum in the US and for $8,000 in the UK (again I made up the numbers, but I think UK payments are much lower that US??)
So, the SSA will dock you $1000 a year (50% of $2000.) Because of the "windfall" you qualified for, for qualifying in two different systems.
Jul 26th 2010, 7:11 pm
#22
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
This is unfair & unfortunate. I assume this will affect a high proportion of folks on BE (the US section, that is) in that a high proportion of us have many years in both US SS & the UK Old Age Pension (or Canadian, etc., equivalent.) The reason you do not hear a big outcry from many, and I posted a thread about this about a month ago hoping to get more info about the specifics of the math involved, is simply because a high number of folks here are a bit younger so not thinking that hard about their retirement income.. yet.
Trying to think through the logic & justice of this from the point of view of the SSA, my assumption is that it runs along these lines. (Here I'm just thinking about Social Security and UK Old Age Pension, not about government pensions that come with government employment.) ---
A full working and contributing life could be 50 years or more. For instance, even if you are in full-time education from age 16 to age 26, you could easily have been working enough evenings, vacations etc. to qualify for those years with the SSA. Both the British and US systems, different though they are in many ways, take just 30 years as qualifying you for full (the highest available) pension. Not sure how the UK system works, but in the US they take your 30 best years, I believe. So if you work in just the US, the most you can possibly get is $28,000 per annum (just for the sake of argument - I made up that number.) But, if you worked 25 years in America and 25 years in Britain, You might qualify for $22,000 per annum in the US and for $8,000 in the UK (again I made up the numbers, but I think UK payments are much lower that US??)
So, the SSA will dock you $1000 a year (50% of $2000.) Because of the "windfall" you qualified for, for qualifying in two different systems.
Trying to think through the logic & justice of this from the point of view of the SSA, my assumption is that it runs along these lines. (Here I'm just thinking about Social Security and UK Old Age Pension, not about government pensions that come with government employment.) ---
A full working and contributing life could be 50 years or more. For instance, even if you are in full-time education from age 16 to age 26, you could easily have been working enough evenings, vacations etc. to qualify for those years with the SSA. Both the British and US systems, different though they are in many ways, take just 30 years as qualifying you for full (the highest available) pension. Not sure how the UK system works, but in the US they take your 30 best years, I believe. So if you work in just the US, the most you can possibly get is $28,000 per annum (just for the sake of argument - I made up that number.) But, if you worked 25 years in America and 25 years in Britain, You might qualify for $22,000 per annum in the US and for $8,000 in the UK (again I made up the numbers, but I think UK payments are much lower that US??)
So, the SSA will dock you $1000 a year (50% of $2000.) Because of the "windfall" you qualified for, for qualifying in two different systems.
Jul 26th 2010, 7:21 pm
#23
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
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Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
Splitting your working life between UK and US, you are entitled to (for example) $22,000 in the US and $8,000 in the UK, that is $30,000 in total. The US regard the extra $2,000 a year as a windfall, and hold back half of it .. $1,000.
Jul 26th 2010, 7:50 pm
#24
Just Joined
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Posts: 3
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
In my example (I made up the numbers) I said that the most you could get in SS, having worked all you working life in the US, was (say) $28,000 each year.
Splitting your working life between UK and US, you are entitled to (for example) $22,000 in the US and $8,000 in the UK, that is $30,000 in total. The US regard the extra $2,000 a year as a windfall, and hold back half of it .. $1,000.
Splitting your working life between UK and US, you are entitled to (for example) $22,000 in the US and $8,000 in the UK, that is $30,000 in total. The US regard the extra $2,000 a year as a windfall, and hold back half of it .. $1,000.
Jul 26th 2010, 8:25 pm
#25
The Kwisatz Haderach
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: North Wales
Posts: 8,080
Re: SS Benefits Reduced if you are Collecting from another Government
Aww this sucks. No matter you do to try and secure a safe and happy old age pension someone cocks it up. 
Most of our pension will be US based, but they'll chop some of the SS off for the private pension Dh will get from the union, then chop off a bit more for what we have for working in the UK a few years, what a rip.
Most of our pension will be US based, but they'll chop some of the SS off for the private pension Dh will get from the union, then chop off a bit more for what we have for working in the UK a few years, what a rip.
