No. 20-480October Term 2020Decided Jan 13, 2022
Babcock v. Kijakazi
The case asked whether a retired National Guard dual-status technician’s civil-service pension should be treated as a pension based entirely on military service, which would prevent the Social Security Administration from reducing his benefits under the windfall elimination provision.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jan 13, 2022
- What it's about
The case asked whether a retired National Guard dual-status technician’s civil-service pension should be treated as a pension based entirely on military service, which would prevent the Social Security Administration from reducing his benefits under the windfall elimination provision. The Supreme Court held that this kind of pension is based on civilian employment, not wholly on service as a member of a uniformed service.
Question presented
Is a civil-service pension payment based on dual-status military technician service to the National Guard a payment based wholly on service as a member of a uniformed service?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit / Decision released Jan 13, 2022
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided January 13, 2022
The Court released its decision on January 13, 2022 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 2, 2026
- Method
- Methodology
Primary materials10
Supreme Court docket 20-480
docket | Jul 25, 2026
Primary case document
Supreme Court document | Jul 25, 2026
CourtListener docket record
docket | Jul 25, 2026
Questions Presented
brief | May 25, 2026
opinion
opinion | Jan 13, 2022
Petition
brief | Oct 8, 2020
SupremeCourt.gov
official | Jul 2, 2026
SupremeCourt.gov
official | Jul 2, 2026
SupremeCourt.gov
official | Jul 2, 2026
SupremeCourt.gov
official | Jul 2, 2026