(over)

2023

Windfall Elimination Provision

Your Social Security retirement or 

disability benefits may be reduced

The Windfall Elimination Provision can affect how 

Social Security calculates your retirement or disability 

benefit. If you work for an employer who doesn’t withhold 

Social Security taxes from your salary, any retirement 

or disability pension you get from that work can reduce 

your Social Security benefits. Such an employer may be 

a government agency or an employer in another country.

When your benefits can be affected

The following provisions can affect you if both of them 

are true:

• You earn a retirement or disability pension from an 

employer who didn’t withhold Social Security taxes.

• You qualify for Social Security retirement or disability 

benefits from work in other jobs for which you did 

pay taxes.

The Windfall Elimination Provision can apply if 1 of the 

following is true:

• You reached age 62 after 1985.

• You developed a qualifying disability after 1985.

If the latter applies, you must first have become eligible 

for a monthly pension based on work where you didn’t 

pay Social Security taxes after 1985. This rule applies 

even if you’re still working.

This provision also affects Social Security benefits 

for people who performed federal service under the 

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) after 1956. 

We won’t reduce your Social Security benefit amount 

if you only performed federal service under a system 

such as the Federal Employees’ Retirement System 

(FERS). Social Security taxes are withheld for workers 

under FERS.

How it works

Social Security benefits are intended to replace only 

some of a worker’s pre-retirement earnings. 

We base your Social Security benefit on your average 

monthly earnings adjusted for average wage growth. 

We separate your average earnings into 3 amounts and 

multiply the amounts using 3 factors to compute your 

full Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). For example, for a 

worker who turns 62 in 2023, the first $1,115 of average 

monthly earnings is multiplied by 90%; earnings between 

$1,115 and $6,721 are multiplied by 32%; and the 

balance by 15%. The sum of the 3 amounts equals the 

PIA, which is then decreased or increased depending 

on whether the worker starts benefits before or after 

full retirement age (FRA). This formula produces the 

monthly payment amount.

When we apply this formula, the percentage of career 

average earnings paid to lower-paid workers is greater 

than higher-paid workers. For example, consider workers 

age 62 in 2023, with average earnings of $3,000 per 

month. They could receive a benefit at FRA of $1,606 

(approximately 53%) of their pre-retirement earnings 

increased by applicable cost of living adjustments 

(COLAs). For a worker with average earnings of $8,000 

per month, the benefit starting at FRA could be $2,989 

(approximately 37%) plus COLAs. However, if either of 

these workers starts benefits earlier than their FRA, we’ll 

reduce their monthly benefit.

Why we use a different formula

Before 1983, people whose primary job wasn’t covered 

by Social Security had their Social Security benefits 

calculated as if they were long-term, low-wage workers. 

They had the advantage of receiving a Social Security 

benefit that represented a higher percentage of their 

earnings. They also had a pension from a job for which 

they didn’t pay Social Security taxes. Congress passed 

the Windfall Elimination Provision to remove that 

advantage.

Under the provision, we reduce the 90% factor in our 

formula and phase it in for workers who reached age 62 

or developed a disability between 1986 and 1989. For 

people who reach 62 or developed a disability in 1990 or 

later, we reduce the 90% factor to as little as 40%.

Some exceptions

The Windfall Elimination Provision doesn’t apply if:

• You’re a federal worker first hired after 

December 31, 1983.

• You’re an employee of a non-profit organization 

who was exempt from Social Security coverage 

on December 31,1983. This does not apply if the 

non-profit organization waived exemption and did 

pay Social Security taxes, but then the waiver was 

terminated prior to December 31, 1983.

• Your only pension is for railroad employment.

• The only work you performed for which you didn’t pay 

Social Security taxes was before 1957.

SSA.gov Windfall Elimination Provision
• You have 30 or more years of substantial earnings 

under Social Security.

The Windfall Elimination Provision doesn’t apply to 

survivors benefits. We may reduce spouses, widows, 

or widowers benefits because of another law. For 

more information, read Government Pension Offset

(Publication No. 05-10007).

Social Security years of substantial earnings

If you have 30 or more years of substantial earnings, 

we don’t reduce the standard 90% factor in our formula. 

See the first table that lists substantial earnings for each 

year.

The second table shows the percentage used to 

reduce the 90% factor depending on the number 

of years of substantial earnings. If you have 21 to 

29 years of substantial earnings, we reduce the 

90% factor to between 45% and 85%. To see the 

maximum amount we could reduce your benefit, visit 

www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/wep.html.

A guarantee

The law protects you if you get a low pension. We won’t 

reduce your Social Security benefit by more than half of 

your pension for earnings after 1956 on which you didn’t 

pay Social Security taxes.

Contacting Us

The most convenient way to do business with us is to 

visit www.ssa.gov to get information and use our online 

services. There are several things you can do online: 

apply for benefits; start or complete your request for 

an original or replacement Social Security card; get 

useful information; find publications; and get answers to 

frequently asked questions.

Or, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or 

at 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) if you’re deaf or hard of 

hearing. We can answer your call from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., 

weekdays. We provide free interpreter services upon 

request. For quicker access to a representative, try 

calling early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. 

local time) or later in the day. We are less busy later 

in the week (Wednesday to Friday) and later in the 

month. You can also use our automated services via 

telephone, 24 hours a day, so you do not need to speak 

with a representative. 

Year Substantial earnings

1937–1954 $900

1955–1958 $1,050

1959–1965 $1,200

1966–1967 $1,650

1968–1971 $1,950

1972 $2,250

1973 $2,700

1974 $3,300

1975 $3,525

1976 $3,825

1977 $4,125

1978 $4,425

1979 $4,725

1980 $5,100

1981 $5,550

1982 $6,075

1983 $6,675

1984 $7,050

1985 $7,425

1986 $7,875

1987 $8,175

1988 $8,400

1989 $8,925

Year Substantial earnings

1990 $9,525

1991 $9,900

1992 $10,350

1993 $10,725

1994 $11,250

1995 $11,325

1996 $11,625

1997 $12,150

1998 $12,675

1999 $13,425

2000 $14,175

2001 $14,925

2002 $15,750

2003 $16,125

2004 $16,275

2005 $16,725

2006 $17,475

2007 $18,150

2008 $18,975

2009–2011 $19,800

2012 $20,475

2013 $21,075

2014 $21,750

Year Substantial earnings

2015–2016 $22,050

2017 $23,625

2018 $23,850

2019 $24,675

2020 $25,575

2021 $26,550

2022 $27,300

2023 $29,700

Years of substantial

earnings Percentage

30 or more 90 %

29 85 %

28 80 %

27 75 %

26 70 %

25 65 %

24 60 %

23 55 %

22 50 %

21 45 %

20 or less 40 %

Social Security Administration

Publication No. 05-10045

January 2023 (Recycle prior editions)

Windfall Elimination Provision

Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense