Ask the Expert: Social Security rules

You probably won't be eligible to receive a spousal Social Security benefit because as a former federal employee, you're subject to a rule called the Government Pension Offset. The same rule also applies to state, city and municipal employees.

Under this rule, your Social Security spousal benefit is reduced by two-thirds of the amount of your government pension. For example, if your federal pension is $1,200 a month, your Social Security spousal benefit would be reduced by $800 a month. In other words, if you qualified for a $900 spousal benefit, you'd receive only $100.

Not surprisingly, many former government workers feel this rule is unfair. But fairness is actually its objective: People who didn't work for the government can receive their own Social Security benefit or their spousal Social Security benefit, whichever is bigger — but not both. The offset rule was intended to establish an equivalent restriction for government retirees, who otherwise had a unique advantage: They could collect a civil service benefit of their own plus a Social Security benefit based on their spouses' records.

If you had paid into Social Security for 40 quarters or longer, you'd be eligible for your own Social Security benefit in addition to your civil service pension. However, your Social Security benefit would be calculated according to a special "Windfall Elimination" formula, because the standard calculation would give you a mathematical advantage over nongovernment retirees.