WEP document submission question

[HankNeva]

Greetings! I just got a letter from the Social Security office asking me to submit forms about my Japanese pension. I was happy to learn that the WEP Windfall Elimination Provision will no longer apply. I'm an American with 40 quarters of US work at quite low wages. The US SS office had sent me my estimated pension amount for many years, but when I went to start receiving it they applied the WEP and cut this small pension by half.

I checked my US bank account where i receive the SS payments and there was a lump sum there of close to 1.5 years of payments. That seems to be a retroactive payment.

The letter asks me to send the address and name of the agency from which I receive my pension. If I receive more than one pension I need to submit two forms along with the original award letter.

The letter says they will no longer apply the WEP to payments received under Japan's National Pension (JNP). But they will continue to apply it to payments received under the Employee Pension Insurance (EPI).

I wonder if I am receiving a pension under the EPI?

I worked for a Japanese university for 25 years, so I get a Pension from Shigau Kyosai Kumia and the National Pension scheme. I was under the impression these had been unified. But would the University Pension be considered EPI?

I'm not clear on what forms to send Social Security. Has anyone gotten any clarity on this situation?

[captainspoke]

Not sure about your questions on the pensions here, but I hope that some of the other things you mention are somehow applied to me! A retroactive bonus would be nice, especially when I've had my spidey senses on alert for something where I would need to confirm that I'm a valid SS recipient (that I'm alive, and a real person, and so on). I was expecting that in June, given some other posts here.

[TokyoWart]

My understanding is that WEP already did not apply to the Japan National Pension (基礎年金) which is the smaller amount we receive but did still apply to the larger Employee Pension Insurance (厚生年金) until Biden signed a law that eliminated WEP for everything in late December so I am surprized that the letter you received mentioned that WEP still applies to EPI.