If you’re unfamiliar with The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), I suggest you read this article that I wrote about it.
Most of the time, the WEP will affect individuals who have a pension from a local, state or federal entity. Recently I ran into a circumstance where the WEP impacted an individual who had both American and Canadian citizenship.
Canada has a similar system to Social Security, the Canadian Pension Plan or CPP. It is very similar in many respects including the age for claiming, working credits, inflation protection, and more. Canadian citizens who work in the country earn it in the same way that US citizens earn credits toward Social Security benefits.
The interesting thing is that a CPP benefit is considered a non-Social Security covered pension that triggers the WEP. Here’s the documentation from Social Security’s website
Therefore, if you are a Canadian citizen and have earned credits toward the CPP, bear in mind that this benefit may reduce your Social Security benefits in the US if you have less than 30 years of Social Security earnings.
If you have any questions about how the Windfall Elimination Provision works for your case, please contact me
