Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) update (Subscribe | En español)

The Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025.

The Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes. This law increases Social Security benefits for certain types of workers, including some:

• teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states;
• federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and
• people whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system.

Learn more below about the steps the Social Security Administration (SSA) is taking to implement the law.

Not necessarily. We know that some press articles have mentioned teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees when discussing the new law. However, only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see benefit increases. Most state and local public employees – about 72 percent – work in Social Security-covered employment where they pay Social Security taxes and are not affected by WEP or GPO. Those individuals will not receive a benefit increase due to the new law.

Starting the week of February 24, 2025, SSA is beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the WEP and GPO

If a beneficiary is due retroactive benefits as a result of the Act, they will receive a one-time retroactive payment, deposited into the bank account SSA has on file, by the end of March. This retroactive payment will cover the increase in their benefit amount back to January 2024, the month when WEP and GPO no longer apply.

Social Security benefits are paid one month behind. Most affected beneficiaries will begin receiving their new monthly benefit amount in April 2025 (for their March 2025 benefit).

Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment.

NOTE: A beneficiary may receive two mailed notices, the first when WEP or GPO is removed from their record, and a second when their monthly benefit amount is adjusted for their new monthly payment amount. They may receive the retroactive payment before receiving the mailed notice.

We have been able to expedite payments due to the use of automation. For the many complex cases that cannot be processed automatically, additional time is required to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefits amount.

We urge beneficiaries to wait until April to inquire about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally throughout March.

Beneficiaries should also wait until after receiving their April payment before contacting SSA to ask about their monthly benefit amount because the new amount will not be reflected until April for their March payment.

The amount monthly benefits may change can vary greatly. Depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person’s pension, some people’s benefits will increase very little while others may be eligible for over $1,000 more each month.

December 2023 is the last month that WEP and GPO will apply. This means that those rules no longer apply to benefits payable for January 2024 and later. Important reminder: Social Security benefits payable for January 2024 would generally have been received in February 2024.

The Act applies to benefits you get on your own record (retirement or disability benefits) and to spouse’s or surviving spouse’s benefits on another person’s record. What action you need to take depends on your situation and on what type of benefits you are eligible for.

If you are entitled to retired or disabled workers’ benefits, and your benefits are currently being reduced by WEP; OR if you are entitled to spouse’s or surviving spouse’s benefits, and your benefits are currently being reduced or eliminated by GPO:

• If you know that SSA has your mailing address and/or direct deposit information on file, no other actions are needed from you at this time.
• If you want to verify that the mailing address and/or direct deposit information that SSA has on file is accurate and up to date:
  • Check your personal my Social Security account. Visit www.ssa.gov/my account to sign in or create an account.
  • If you are unable to create an account, please call 1-800-772-1213 to verify the information we have on file.

Ensuring that SSA has the correct information allows you to get any retroactive benefits and your new benefit amount quicker.

If you are not sure whether you ever applied for retirement, spouse’s, or surviving spouse’s benefits:

• You may need to file an application. The date of your application might affect when your benefits begin.

If you never applied for retirement due to WEP or spouse’s or surviving spouse’s benefits because of GPO:

• You may need to file an application. The date of your application might affect when your benefits begin and your benefit amount. However, each case is different, and all other Social Security laws and policies, such as benefit reductions for claiming benefits before the full retirement age, the retirement earnings test, and others, still apply.

Retirement or Spouse’s Benefits

• The most convenient way to apply for retirement or spouse’s benefits is online at www.ssa.gov/apply.
  • Please note that the online application continues to collect pension information until we are able to update it; however, we will not offset the benefit.
  • If you are applying for spouse’s benefits, please note that selecting “Family Benefits” will take you to the application for Retirement/Medicare benefits. This process ensures that you will be considered for all benefits you are entitled to.
• We can take an application by telephone for people who did not previously apply for retirement benefits because of WEP or spouse’s benefits because of GPO. If you meet these conditions, call 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. When the system asks, “How can I help you today?”, say “Fairness Act.” Then, you'll be asked a few questions. Your answers will help us connect you to a WEP-GPO trained representative to take your application.

Surviving Spouse’s Benefits:

• The survivor benefit application is not available online.
• Call 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. When the system asks, “How can I help you today?”, say “Fairness Act.” Then, you'll be asked a few questions. Your answers will help us connect you to a WEP-GPO trained representative to take your application.
• For additional eligibility information, visit www.ssa.gov/apply.

SSA recommends that, until they get a notice from SSA, the person should continue to follow the instructions on the Medicare premium bill and pay the bill to ensure their Medicare coverage does not stop. SSA will send a notice telling people when their Social Security record is updated. Once the person begins receiving a Social Security benefit, the Medicare premium will be deducted from their monthly payment. If the benefit is not enough to cover the Medicare premium, the person will be billed for the remainder. SSA's notice will include this information.

If the person prepaid their premiums to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and SSA tells them that their premiums will now be deducted from their monthly Social Security benefits, they will receive any applicable refund. SSA's notice will include this information.

You may need to take action. For people who pay their Medicare premium using Automated Clearing House (ACH), also known as Medicare Easy Pay or Online Bill Payment: Once SSA notifies the person that they will receive a benefit increase, the Medicare premium will automatically be deducted from their monthly Social Security payment.

• For people using Medicare Easy Pay: They should arrange to stop the ACH payments by completing the Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payments form (SF-5510) and sending to the address on the form or online at Medicare.gov. Both options are located at https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/pay-premiums/medicare-easy-pay.

• For people using Online Bill Payment: If a person is paying their Medicare premiums through their bank's online bill payment service, they should contact their bank to stop their online bill payments.

  Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for assistance.

If a person has had their premiums deducted from their CSRS annuity, and then applies for Social Security benefits, SSA will tell the person that their premiums will now be deducted from their monthly Social Security benefits. SSA's notice will include this information. Please contact SSA if you have any questions about your premiums.

WEP and GPO still apply to months prior to January 2024. In some instances, we may need to request the amount received for your pension from work not covered by Social Security to verify we are paying you correctly for these months.

Unfortunately, bad actors might attempt to take advantage of situations when money is involved. SSA will never ask or require a person to pay either for assistance or to have their benefits started, increased, or paid retroactively. Hang up and do not click or respond to anyone offering to increase or expedite benefits. Learn more about Social Security-related scams, and how to report them to SSA's Office of the Inspector General, at www.ssa.gov/scams.

SSA has taken several steps to tell people what it is doing to implement the Act and to provide important updates to avoid unnecessary calls or visits while we finalize the implementation plan. SSA:

• Created this Social Security Fairness Act webpage to explain what the Act does, what steps—if any—someone should take, and other helpful information. The webpage offers the option to subscribe to receive alerts when SSA updates the webpage, eliminating the need to return to the webpage to check for updates. SSA encourages media and third-party groups to direct people to this webpage for information.
• Added upfront messaging to its National 800 Number about the Act so callers do not need to wait to speak to a representative.
• Plans informational meetings with state retirement boards, labor unions, financial planners, human resources professionals, and the advocate community.

SSA is currently processing pending or new claims for benefits and using automation to pay retroactive benefits and increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the WEP and GPO.

The Act requires SSA to adjust benefits for over 3 million people. Since the law’s effective date is in the past, SSA must adjust some people’s past benefits as well as future benefits. Processing these changes is very complex and SSA’s analysis shows that some of the work must be done manually, on a case-by-case basis. Our electronic payment systems cannot make all the necessary changes at the same time and we will need to process the actions in several stages, beginning the week of February 24th.

The law requires SSA to adjust benefits for over 3 million people. Since the law's effective date is retroactive, SSA must adjust people's past benefits as well as future benefits. SSA is helping most affected beneficiaries now, but under SSA's current budget, SSA expects that some complex cases that need to be processed manually could take up to one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits.

Callers to SSA's National 800 Number hear a message about the Act. This message has helped tens of thousands of people avoid holding for a representative. However, more than 6,000 people each day still choose to wait to speak to a representative about the Act. These calls, as well as visitors and appointments in local offices, will continue to increase over the coming weeks and months.