The University of Texas at Dallas

Human Resources Management

Office of Business Affairs

Can I tell how much I will get from Social Security when I retire?

If you are age 25 or older, the Social Security Administration will send you a statement of earnings and benefit estimate report annually.  Examine the statement part of the report to be sure their record of your past earnings and deposits is correct.  If you find an error, contact your local Social Security office.   The estimate portion of the report gives you a general idea how much money you can expect from Social Security when you retire.

There are 2 situations in which the estimate may not be accurate for certain employees - Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision.

What is the Government Pension Offset?

If you retire from UTD and your spouse retires from a school district or other government employer which does not participate in Social Security, your benefit estimate report may not accurately predict survivor’s benefits, due to the Government Pension Offset. This reduction affects spouse’s or widow(er)’s benefits.  If your spouse has a government pension from work not covered by Social Security, your spouse’s spousal Social Security benefit may be “offset” by two-thirds of the amount of their government pension.  

 Here’s an example: 

You retire from UTD and your spouse retires from a school district which does not participate in Social Security.  Your Social Security benefit is $700 per month and your spouse’s monthly Teacher Retirement System (TRS) annuity is $600.  When you die, Social Security will “offset” the Social Security survivor’s benefit by two-thirds of the  survivor’s TRS annuity ($400.)

 Your survivor will continue to get their TRS annuity and any survivor benefits from your TRS or Optional Retirement Plan.  If you have questions about the Government Pension Offset, contact your local Social Security office. 

Your estimate may also be incorrect if you have had employment with a government employer who did not collect Social Security on you, due to the Windfall Elimination Provision or WEP.

What is the Windfall Elimination Provision?

If you receive a government pension from employment not covered by Social Security, like a school district, AND are also eligible for Social Security benefits based on your employment with a covered employer, like UTD, a different formula will be used to compute your Social Security benefit than the one used in the benefit estimates. This formula, which will result in a lower benefit, is known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and affects workers who reach age 62, or become disabled, after 1985 and are first eligible after 1985 for a government pension.  If you think you may be affected by the WEP, contact your local Social Security office for more information.

Should I take reduced benefits at age 62 or wait until I am old enough to receive full benefits?

Because everyone’s situation differs, we recommend you get advice from your family, a financial advisor and the local Social Security office before you make this important decision.