Q. As a CSRS employee I chose to reduce my pension in order that my wife could get a spousal benefit pension when I die. She worked many years in the private sector, and her Social Security pension benefit is about $10,000 a year. Now my question: At my death, would the windfall elimination provision be applied to her spousal federal pension and reduce her Social Security pension benefit?
A. No, it wouldn’t. The WEP doesn’t apply to a spousal benefit. It only reduces the Social Security benefit of someone who is receiving an annuity from a retirement system where he or she didn’t pay Social Security taxes, such as CSRS.
