Will I Avoid Social Security’s Government Pension Offset?

Clients who are receiving a government pension and a Social Security spousal, widow or widower’s benefit based on their spouse or ex-spouse’s work history may be impacted by the Government Pension Offset.

To help make the conversation with clients easier, we have created the “Will I Avoid Social Security’s Government Pension Offset?” flowchart. It addresses some of the most common issues that arise for a client trying to understand the Government Pension Offset.  This flowchart considers the following:

• Impact of certain key dates
• Required Social Security contribution period to avoid GPO
• GPO calculation
• Medicare impact

Updated for 2020