Background

Spouses and surviving spouses can receive Social Security benefits based on their spouse’s Social Security benefits. Prior to repeal, the GPO reduced these spouse and surviving spouse Social Security benefits by two-thirds if such spouse or surviving spouse received a pension from a federal, state or local government and their spouse’s work had not been covered by Social Security. In some cases, the GPO eliminated the full amount of the spouse’s or surviving spouse’s Social Security benefit. See the Social Security Administration’s GPO fact sheet for a more detailed explanation of the GPO.

The WEP reduced the Social Security benefits of an individual who worked in jobs covered by Social Security and also jobs not covered by Social Security. Under the WEP, the Social Security benefit of such individual would have been calculated in such a way that the individual’s Social Security benefit could have been reduced by up to 50 percent of the individual’s pension. See the Social Security Administration’s WEP fact sheet for a more detailed explanation of the WEP.

These provisions significantly reduced retirement benefits received by public sector workers, such as teachers, firefighters and police officers, as well as their spouses or surviving spouses.

Implications of the Social Security Fairness Act

The repeal of the GPO and the WEP means that public sector workers and their spouses or surviving spouses will now receive the full Social Security benefits they have earned, without any reduction due to their pensions from non-covered work.

The repeal of the GPO and WEP impacts nearly three million people currently eligible for Social Security benefits. Such individuals will see an increase in their benefits, including adjustment to Social Security payments retroactive to January 2024.

Sponsors of plans that provide pensions to workers not covered by Social Security may wish to communicate this change to their members.

What’s next

To implement the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security Administration will need to identify individuals affected by the repeal and recalculate their benefit amounts, including retroactive payments.

The Social Security Administration recommends that affected individuals ensure that they have:

• Set up a personal account
• Filed for benefits
• Verified that their mailing address and direct deposit information is current

For more information see this webpage: Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) update