nun

Any pension derived from money that you did not pay US FICA tax on will be included in a WEP calculation.

johnwoo

I didn't have a clue how it all worked, I just filled out the appropriate US and UK forms and receive a a check paid into my bank every month.
Strangely my wife worked less and was paid less in the UK and gets a bigger UK pension.

kodokan

Do you have kids, and if so was her name on the Child Benefit claim? I've got 8 years of Home Responsibilities Protection for being at home with small kids, when the UK government gave me an annual credit for my pension.

Asg123

Thank you for your and other replies.

I had thought that only a state pension (like a UK state pension) or eg some US government job pensions were included in WEP. And that any voluntary contributions one's made are not included. How does that fit in with UK personal pensions counting for WEP? (Personal pensions are voluntary with voluntary contributions aren't they? (mine was))

lansbury

It is the amount of the State Pension derived from voluntary contributions which is not counted for WEP. Although at least one BE member was told by their local SS office even that counted. They have not reported back with the outcome of the appeal we urged them to make on that decision.

How were the contributions to your personal pension made. Were they deducted from your pay or did you purchase them separately outside of employment? Were they in anyway based on your salary? My wife's personal pension payments were a percentage of her salary (she could of opted out), and that pension counted towards the WEP calculation.

Asg123

I had 2 personal pensions, one with my employer and a stakeholder pension. I contributed between 5% and 15% at various times of my pay towards my pension (always voluntary), and my employer contributed 1 1/2 times my contribution up to 5% (7 1/2 %). When I left my job I closed it and transferred the proceeds to my stakeholder pension. I made some contributions to my stakeholder pension outside of employment. So the source of the funds in my pension is a mixture of employment-related and non-employment related contributions.

It doesn't seem to make sense why this might count towards WEP whereas the part of the state pension that I've paid just 2 or 3 pounds a week for here might not.

Pulaski

The whole WEP thing is a nonsense because it was designed specifically to deal with life-long US residents who spent part of their life working for the government and part working for a private corporation. The rules however are then applied to others, such as those who worked outside the US for a substantial part of their career, and the whole thing becomes a tangled and wildly inconsistent mess. ...... I am just thankful that I am on track to escape WEP entitirely. ..... While simultaneously getting a "full" UK state pension.

lansbury

Having dealt with SS when we claimed our pensions, I would expect that part of the pension derived from the employment related contributions will count towards WEP. The non employment part shouldn't count. IMHO.

Be prepared for SSA to say otherwise and be in a position to counter their stance.

johnwoo

If I remember correctly the SS in the UK will send you all the information you need. The people I dealt with in the UK seemed far better informed than those in the US.

Morar

I don't agree! The two systems work with each other because I had my Social Security (USA) reduced by $45 because I got $110 from GB. I had worked here 27 years but I needed 30 years employment in USA to avaid this penelty
Read the rules before you apply in the USA!

Pulaski

So far, prior to your post, there have been 24 posts in this thread, and numerous and various different opinions have been expressed. If you don't quote one we have no idea which one you disagree with.

nun

Your UK personal pensions were funded with wages not subject to FICA so they count towards WEP, the voluntary nature of the pension contributions is meaningless.

robin1234

Worth adding, it is 30 years of substantial employment. If you first work in the U.S. in October, or retire in February, or have a year when you just have a few weeks of part time employment, then you might have some years that do not count towards the 30 years of substantial employment needed for this specific test. (Although those years will still count towards your basic SS retirement benefit calculation.)

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

mrken30

I am struggling to find out information with regards to WEP and 403(b) plans. Do years of contributing to 403(b) cound towards the 30 required years?

Pulaski

Is contributing to a 403(b) an alternative to contributing to SS? I thought the 403(b) was comparable to a 401(k). So isn't the question "were you contributing to SS while you were contributing to a 403(b)?"

If you were covered by a government pension scheme instead of SS, then definitely no contributing to a 403(b) does not help with 30 years of substantial contributions.

If the 403(b) is the alternative to SS, then even more definitely not!