On January 5th the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that had previously impacted the benefits of millions of public sector employees and their widows/widowers. If you were affected by either of these provisions this change likely means you are now entitled to start receiving (or get an increase in) benefits from Social Security.
The bill eliminates the provisions retroactive to January 1, 2024, so if you have an adjustment you will also be receiving a lump sum payment of funds for 2024.
Who is Impacted?
Public employees and their spouses or widows/widowers with pensions from non-Social Security covered work may have had their benefits reduced by the WEP or GPO. This includes teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public sector employees. Also, Federal employees who were covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Note: Federal employees covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) generally won’t be affected.
What were the WEP & GPO?
The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pension or disability benefits from employment where Social Security payroll taxes were not withheld. This provision impacted a number of public sector employees who earned a pension but also had a career in the private sector and paid into SS. Recipients who were affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision can expect their monthly benefits to increase by an average of $360 according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The GPO reduced Social Security benefits for spouses, widows and widowers who also receive income from their own government pensions. Some spouses who were affected by the Government Pension Offset are anticipated to receive an average monthly increase of $700 and surviving spouses receiving a widow or widower benefit a monthly average of $1,190, according to the CBO.
What do I need to do?
The law has passed, but know that the implementation of it (and getting your funds) will take time. Right now, they are just evaluating how to implement the Act. More information will be coming later this year regarding the implementation process. If you want to stay up to date on any updates from Social Security on this issue, you can subscribe to email updates on the issue here: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USSSA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USSSA_682
If you are a client of SPP and believe you will be impacted by this, it will be on the agenda for an upcoming meeting this year and we’ll help you analyze the impact and discuss any action steps.
If you have previously filed for Social Security Benefits you do not need to take any action at this time except to verify that SSA has your current mailing address and direct deposit information. You can verify your information with SSA via your my Social Security account login: www.ssa.gov/myaccount
If you have not previously filed for Social Security because you believed you would not be elgibile due to the GPO, but believe you would now be eligible to receive benefits, you can file online at ssa.gov/apply or schedule an appointment with your local SSA office – just know turnaround time will likely be slow as they will be handling a large number of requests at once.
