Social Security
Notice to PARS ARS Participants
Your
earnings from this job are not covered under Social
Security. When you retire, or if you become disabled,
you may receive a pension based on earnings from this
job. If you do, and you are also entitled to a benefit
from Social Security based on either your own work or
the work of your husband or wife, or former husband or
wife, your pension may affect the amount of Social
Security benefit you receive. Your Medicare benefits,
however, will not be affected. Under the Social Security
law, there are two ways your Social Security benefit
amount may be affected.
Windfall Elimination Provision
Under the Windfall Elimination Provision, your Social
Security retirement or disability benefit is determined
using a modified formula when you are also entitled to a
pension from a job where you did not pay Social Security
tax. For example, if you are age 62 in
2005, the maximum monthly reduction in your Social
Security benefit as a result of this provision is
$313.50. This amount is updated annually. This provision
reduces, but does not totally eliminate, your Social
Security benefit. For additional information, please
refer to the Social Security publication,
“Windfall Elimination Provision”.
Government Pension Offset Provision
Under the Government Pension Offset Provision, any
Social Security spouse or widow(er) benefit to which you
become entitled will be offset if you also receive a
Federal, State or local government pension based on work
where you did not pay Social Security tax. The offset
reduces the amount of your Social Security spouse or
widow(er) benefit by two-thirds of the amount of your
pension.
For
example, if you get a monthly pension of $600 based on
earnings that are not covered under Social Security, two
thirds of that amount, $400, is used to offset your
Social Security spouse or widow(er) benefit. If you are
eligible for a $500 widow(er) benefit, you will receive
$100 per month from Social Security, $500 - $400 = $100.
Even if your pension is high enough to totally offset
your spouse or widow(er) Social Security benefit, you
are still eligible for Medicare at age 65. For
additional information, please refer to the Social
Security publication,
“Government Pension Offset”
For
More Information
Social Security publications and additional information,
including information about exceptions to each
provision, are available at
www.socialsecurity.gov. You may also call toll
free 1-800-772-1213, or, for the deaf or hard of
hearing, call the TTY number 1-800-325-0778, or contact
your local Social Security office.
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Updated:
January 21, 2005
