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If you’re subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), your Social Security retirement benefit can be reduced in the first bend point to as little as 40% from the normal 90% rate. The WEP applies if you worked in a job that did not require Social Security withholding in addition to a job that was subject to Social Security withholding. Here’s how substantial earnings can help.
If you’ve worked in the Social Security-covered job for a significant amount of time and the amount of earnings you received there was substantial, it is possible that the reduction due to WEP could be lessened and eventually eliminated if you amass enough years of substantial earnings.
Each year’s substantial earnings is only applicable to that particular year. So if you earned more than the substantial earnings in one year, this doesn’t carry over to the next year. At the same time, if you miss the substantial earnings limit for the year, even by one dollar, you cannot count that year as a substantial earnings year.
According to the Social Security Administration, substantial earnings is defined as an amount equal or above the amounts shown in the table below:
| Year | Substantial Earnings |
| 1937-1954 | $900 |
| 1955-1958 | $1,050 |
| 1959-1965 | $1,200 |
| 1966-1967 | $1,650 |
| 1968-1971 | $1,950 |
| 1972 | $2,250 |
| 1973 | $2,700 |
| 1974 | $3,300 |
| 1975 | $3,525 |
| 1976 | $3,825 |
| 1977 | $4,125 |
| 1978 | $4,425 |
| 1979 | $4,725 |
| 1980 | $5,100 |
| 1981 | $5,550 |
| 1982 | $6,075 |
| 1983 | $6,675 |
| 1984 | $7,050 |
| 1985 | $7,425 |
| 1986 | $7,825 |
| 1987 | $8,175 |
| 1988 | $8,400 |
| 1989 | $8,925 |
| 1990 | $9,525 |
| 1991 | $9,900 |
| 1992 | $10,350 |
| 1993 | $10,725 |
| 1994 | $11,250 |
| 1995 | $11,325 |
| 1996 | $11,625 |
| 1997 | $12,150 |
| 1998 | $12,675 |
| 1999 | $13,425 |
| 2000 | $14,175 |
| 2001 | $14,925 |
| 2002 | $15,750 |
| 2003 | $16,125 |
| 2004 | $16,275 |
| 2005 | $16,725 |
| 2006 | $17,475 |
| 2007 | $18,150 |
| 2008 | $18,975 |
| 2009-2011 | $19,800 |
| 2012 | $20,475 |
| 2013 | $21,075 |
| 2014 | $21,750 |
| 2015 | $22,050 |
| 2016 | $22,050 |
| 2017 | $23,625 |
| 2018 | $23,850 |
| 2019 | $24,675 |
| 2020 | $25,575 |
So, if your earnings from your Social Security-covered job are substantial according to the table above, it is possible to change the reduction factor, increasing it from the standard 40% – and even possibly eliminating it, depending upon how many years you’ve earned those substantial earnings.
As long as you’ve had those substantial earnings for more than 20 years, follow the table below to determine what your first bend point factor would be.
| Years | First Bend Point Percentage Factor |
| 30 or more | 90% |
| 29 | 85% |
| 28 | 80% |
| 27 | 75% |
| 26 | 70% |
| 25 | 65% |
| 24 | 60% |
| 23 | 55% |
| 22 | 50% |
| 21 | 45% |
| 20 or less | 40% |
What this means is that if you had 20 or fewer years in a Social Security-covered job with substantial earnings, your WEP-reduced factor on the first bend point is 40%. For each year more than 20 of substantial earnings, your WEP-reduced factor increases by 5%, and if you have 30 or more years of substantial earnings, the WEP doesn’t impact your first bend point factor at all.
Effectively, with 20 or fewer years of substantial Social Security-covered earnings, your projected benefit is reduced by 50% of the first bend point (from 90% to 40%). See the article on calculation of your PIA for more on how the bend points work.
