www.socialsecurity.gov/gpo | Government Pension Offset

The Government Pension Offset applies to spousal or widow/widower benefits. If you receive a government pension, your spousal or widow/widower social security benefit will be reduced by $2 for every $3 of your Government pension.For example, if you receive a government pension of $900/month and your spousal social security benefit is $800/month then your SS benefit will be reduced by ($900 x 2/3) = $600. So instead of the $800 SS benefit, you will receive ($800-600) = $200.Overall, your monthly benefits will be reduced from $1700 to $1100, a significant reduction. For complete information on GPO go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10007.html .And in case you are now wondering, you can be affected by both WEP and GPO. WEP is calculated first, then GPO. Under GPO all of your SS benefit could be eliminated.

Website: www.socialsecurity.gov/gpo