U.K State Pension to U.S citizen

I've just realised I left the last paragraph out of my last post. It has to do with your 'half'. The SSA guarantees that you will never receive less than 50% of your US SS benefit.

If, in the above example, the US SS entitlement before WEP was $600/mo., The SSA would guarantee that you would never receive less than $300/mo. after WEP.

I guess looking at your NI record, those that had made voluntary class 2/3 contributions would be less affected by WEP, then those who had been earned them though employment. I had heard that your qualifying years can be broken down into earned and voluntary/credited when it's retirement time. SSA are only concerned with the earned part?

There have been discussions about this on other forums, and it was what nun was referring to earlier in this thread. The concensus seems to be that you must be sure the SSA person that takes your details at the time of applying for US SS understands that some contributions to the UK SS were voluntary. It is possible that the SSA may reduce the UK SS amount if this is the case, but so far, no one has verified that this is true through experience. Perhaps a phone call to the FBU at the embassy, or Baltimore? 

I am totally confused by the WEP. Does it apply only to your state pension based on own earnings in UK or would it apply to a wife's benefit when UK citizen husband qualifies for state pension?
When I turned 60 I had a letter from the UK pension people saying I was entitled to something like 50p based on my own work history. We did not take it up partly because I was back in the US. I have just started receiving US SS (in the US) and my husband is about to start state pension (in UK) and we are wondering how he should deal with the spouse issue.

Does it apply only to your state pension based on own earnings in UK or would it apply to a wife's benefit when UK citizen husband qualifies for state pension?

Sorry BD, I'm a little confused by your question.

I seem to remember that your husband is in the UK now. Has he ever contributed to US SS, and if so, will he be entitled to US SS on his own record?

If your husband will qualify for the US SS on his own, then his UK State Pension will be a factor for WEP. Your UK State Pension benefit should not be a factor in the calculations done for his US SS benefit. If he will qualify only as the spouse of a USC, and has no US SS record, the amount of his UK State Pension should not be a factor.

Was the grand amount of £0.50 (weekly?) the actual amount awarded for the UK State Pension, or was it an estimate, with the opportunity to buy additional years? I realise it was at 60, so assume it was the actual amount. A little light reading on the UK State Pension, including the UK State Pension benefit for spouses and partners: 

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/DG_10014671

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/DG_183784

Is your question based on a possibility of you being able to claim additional UK State Pension benefits based on his NIC record in the UK?

For US SS:

My spouse and I are both entitled to our own Social Security benefits. Will our combined benefits be reduced because we are married?
 
Social Security does not have a marriage penalty. A married couple's lifetime earnings are calculated independently to determine their benefit amounts.  Therefore, each spouse receives a monthly benefit amount based on his or her own earnings.  However, if one member of the couple earned low wages or did not earn enough Social Security credits to be insured for retirement benefits, he or she may be eligible to receive benefits as a spouse.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/176/~/effects-of-marriage-on-social-security-retirement-benefits

Thanks for the links, OAP.
No, husband has never worked in the US so that is not a problem. And he is refusing any entitlement to my US social security and work pension because he does not want to complicate things further.
What I'm concerned about is if the amount of UK pension (whether in own right or through spouse) would be considered WEP and result in less US social security benefit for me?
And yes, he is at the point of talking to the UK Pension Service and is concerned about whether he should put in a claim for me now -- or in the future (I am currently not resident in the UK)
If I remember correctly when the 50p  letter came, there was some mention of making up the additional years. But I could be wrong -- anyway, we decided to ignore it.

My husband got his UK pension while we were still in the US - a whopping 54 pounds per week. He also finally qualified for SS, and got WEPed by the US, but not by the UK.

BD, probably the letter said something about paying voluntary contributions to raise your UK benefit.

At current exchange rates, hubby's US SS payment is more than his UK pension - and both are paid into our UK account now that we are back in the UK.

What I'm concerned about is if the amount of UK pension (whether in own right or through spouse) would be considered WEP and result in less US social security benefit for me?

Only your entitlement to the UK SP would be considered. Your husband's would not be considered. It's up to you how you handle this, but just because you've not taken advantage of the grand £0.50, you are still entitled to it. Therefore, it should be considered for WEP when you apply.

Doing a down and dirty rough calculation, the amount of reduction would be (£0.50 x 1.50*** x 52 weeks: all divided by .5) for the yearly amount. This is $19.50 a year, or a $1.63 reduction a month in your US SS benefit.

*** the exchange rate will be the rate on the day the calculation is made. I've used 1.50 for convenience.

If a UK SP amount for you were to be credited based on your husbands NIC record, and the payments are made to you, then they would also be included for WEP calculations.

As Vadio says, only the US will use WEP. There is no such thing for the UK.

Only your entitlement to the UK SP would be considered. Your husband's would not be considered. It's up to you how you handle this, but just because you've not taken advantage of the grand £0.50, you are still entitled to it. Therefore, it should be considered for WEP when you apply.

As Vadio says, only the US will use WEP. There is no such thing for the UK.

Thanks OAP and vadio. That's what we wanted to know. (I knew WEP only applies to US)