WEP Questionnaire

I'm sure that you've probably seen this before, but always a useful reference point:

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

Thanks.  I don't think I've seen that exact document but I have seen that information from other sources.

Update: I have sent the forms I mentioned earlier to the FBU.  Foolishly I paid the extra to send them "signed for" but in retrospect I don't think anything received by the embassy will be "signed for".  Consequently I have no tracking info so don't know whether they've been received and/or actioned.  I've had the same issue sending documents to the USA in the past.  It was only an extra £ or so but I never learn.

I has a similar experience - 3 letters to SS in Baltimore without reply - disputing my earnings records from 1993!

One conversation with FBU who then guided me on what form to fill out and records were corrected within days - worth an $45 per month on my (maximum WEP'd) SS retirement pension for the rest of my life 

I has a similar experience - 3 letters to SS in Baltimore without reply - disputing my earnings records from 1993!

One conversation with FBU who then guided me on what form to fill out and records were corrected within days - worth an $45 per month on my (maximum WEP'd) SS retirement pension for the rest of my life 

FYI, when I spoke to the FBU recently they were adamant that I should always send correspondence to them (and that's especially true when sending originals of supporting documentation) rather than to the USA.  They have the ability to upload copies of that correspondence to the SSA.  I wasn't aware of this before.

The "signed for" letter I sent to the FBU is still not showing anything other than "we've got it" on the tracker, which leaves me in a bit of a quandary.  Either the letter has not been delivered (3 days later) or it's been delivered and not been signed for - neither outcome is acceptable.  It may be that no letters to the embassy can be signed for (I can imagine a mailbag arriving and no postie is going to hang around waiting for letters to be signed for - even if he/she is allowed to enter the embassy), so it may very well be that it's not possible.  If that's the case, Royal Mail shouldn't offer such a service when sending to the embassy.  Suffice to say, I'm not a big fan of Royal Mail - I've had loads of issues over the years.

Update: received the "delivered" notification today, so that's 4 working days.  Considering it was within the UK, that's pretty slow but delivery could be complicated at the embassy end.  At least it's arrived.

What did you decide RE the private pension eligibility? I have a private SIPP with a mixture of employer and employee contributions from which I haven't yet started taking an income, and I don't plan to until I can get my UK pension - 66 for me, I think. I did, however, take my US SS at 62 and haven't declared my SIPP as being "available". I will declare my UK when I am eligible and I will probably take it at the same time. So I will have had 5 years WEP free.

Cheers

Rick

What did you decide RE the private pension eligibility? I have a private SIPP with a mixture of employer and employee contributions from which I haven't yet started taking an income, and I don't plan to until I can get my UK pension - 66 for me, I think. I did, however, take my US SS at 62 and haven't declared my SIPP as being "available". I will declare my UK when I am eligible and I will probably take it at the same time. So I will have had 5 years WEP free.

Cheers

Rick

I used the same date for my company pensions as my state pension eligibility date i.e. when I turn 66 later this year.  I will probably take my UK state pension at that time, but I'm actually still undecided about my company pensions.  Like you, I took my US SS pension at 62.  I really wasn't sure what to say, but I figured that to give any other answer would have been misleading and very complicated.  For example, I could have said "well, I could have taken one of my pensions when I left that company in 2018, but I have no figures I could give you for how much it would have been worth at that point".  And then there's the pension freedoms act of 2015, which means I could have taken the other pension at that point (because I was over 55) - but I was still working (for a different company) and I have no numbers for that time either.  And you quickly start tying yourself in knots, when actually (as some people advised) they only care when you start taking those pensions.  Also, taking pensions early, even though you're eligible, generally means a lower payout and so the amount they could WEP would be lower.  Now that I'm taking them later, and hopefully receiving more, they'll be able to WEP me to the max.  So maybe it's swings and ladders.  I don't know if that argument holds water though.  In fairness, I don't know if what I've told them will hold water either!

What did you decide RE the private pension eligibility? I have a private SIPP with a mixture of employer and employee contributions from which I haven't yet started taking an income, and I don't plan to until I can get my UK pension - 66 for me, I think. I did, however, take my US SS at 62 and haven't declared my SIPP as being "available". I will declare my UK when I am eligible and I will probably take it at the same time. So I will have had 5 years WEP free.

Cheers

Rick

I’m pretty sure your SIPP is not included in the WEP calculations. They only want to know about  monthly benefit payments from final salary schemes, OAP etc.

Personal pensions do not count in WEP calculations. It’s only U.K. pensions through ‘work’.