Windfall Elimination Provision

This is our main tax information forum which deals with topics concerning Canadians living and working in the U.S., U.S. citizens contemplating working in Canada, and all aspects of Canadian and U.S. income tax and related adminstrative issues.

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glennw100@gmail.com
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:06 am

Re: Windfall Elimination Provision

Post by glennw100@gmail.com »

I have 2 questions on the US WEP:

1) Do RRSP withdrawals result in the WEP being applied to Social Security payments.

I retired last year and am trying to decide when to apply for Social Security and how to manage the wihdrawal of my Canadian RRSP savings.

If my RRSP triggers the WEP then perhaps it would be better to use my RRSP and defer my social security allowing it to grow each year until my RRSP savings are used then the WEP would have less impact on my retirement earnings?

2) I have a private Canadian Company pension that I have not activated yet. IT is worth about $1,000 Cdn per month. Will this private pension result in the WEP be applied to my US Social Security ?

I am a Canadian citizen living abroad with US and Canadian retirement pensions and savings.

Thank you for this support!
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Re: Windfall Elimination Provision

Post by nelsona »

Only company pensions and CPP/QPP count towards WEP, not RRSPs.
Remember that WEP does not apply if you have less than 40 quarters of SS contributions.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
ZippyUSA
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 6:47 pm

Re: Windfall Elimination Provision

Post by ZippyUSA »

Just found this site....Great info!
I have dual citizenship (US/CDN), eligible for CPP. Am taking OAS and US SS so far. No WEP as I am not taking CPP.
Once I start CPP (I'm waiting to allow it to build) do I have to notify the SS folks so they apply WEP to my existing SS payments? A previous comment was that it is only calculated once. I definitely see the benefit with the exchange rate reducing WEP take.
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Re: Windfall Elimination Provision

Post by nelsona »

You must notify SSA when you intend to take CPP.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
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