(over)

2024

Windfall Elimination Provision

Your Social Security retirement or 

disability benefits may be reduced

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) 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 are true:

• You earn a retirement or disability pension from an

employer who didn’t withhold Social Security taxes.

• You may be eligible for Social Security retirement or

disability benefits from work in other jobs for which

you did pay taxes.

The WEP can apply if one 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 work under the Civil 

Service Retirement System (CSRS) after 1956. We 

won’t reduce your Social Security benefit amount if you 

only performed federal work 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 2024: the first $1,174 of average 

monthly earnings is multiplied by 90%; earnings between 

$1,174 and $7,078 are multiplied by 32%; and the 

balance is multiplied 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 2024, with average earnings of $3,000 per 

month. They could receive a benefit at FRA of $1,640 

(approximately 55%) 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 $3,084 

(approximately 39%) 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 WEP 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 WEP doesn’t apply if:

• You’re a federal worker first hired after

December 31, 1983.

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

which 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.

• You have 30 or more years of substantial earnings

under Social Security.

SSA.gov Windfall Elimination Provision
The WEP doesn’t apply to survivors benefits. We may 

reduce spouses or surviving spouses 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

If you receive a relatively low pension, and that pension 

is fully or partially based on earnings after 1956 where 

you did not pay Social Security taxes, there’s a law that 

might help you. In most cases, we won’t reduce your 

Social Security full retirement age benefit by more than 

half of your pension amount.

For a more detailed estimate of how the WEP Guarantee 

may affect your Social Security benefit, please visit 

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

to access the WEP Online Calculator.

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

2024 $31,275

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 2024 (Recycle prior editions)

Windfall Elimination Provision

Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense