An elderly couple is drinking coffee and gazing out the kitchen window.
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The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on Jan. 5, 2025, eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This change affected about 3 million retirees who have what’s called a “noncovered pension.” A noncovered pension is usually paid by federal, state, county or local governments to people such as teachers, firefighters and police officers. These individuals do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks.
The WEP deals with your own Social Security benefit as a noncovered employee if you had a second job that withheld Social Security taxes. If you have a noncovered pension and already applied for benefits, Social Security knows about that and has issued refund checks. If you have never applied for Social Security benefits as a noncovered employee and are now eligible, your benefits will not be reduced by the WEP when you file.
This article focuses on spouses, ex-spouses and survivors who have never applied for Social Security benefits because of the GPO. If that is you, file as soon as possible. You may have been told before the Social Security Fairness Act that you did not qualify for spousal, ex-spousal or survivor benefits because of the GPO. Now you do.
Here is how the GPO worked: Two-thirds of your noncovered pension reduced the amount you would receive as a spouse, ex-spouse or survivor. For example, if your noncovered monthly pension was $3,000, your benefit from Social Security as a spouse, ex-spouse or survivor would have been reduced by $2,000. So if your spousal benefits were $1,500, the GPO would have totally offset it. This reduction no longer exists.
If you have not filed for spousal, ex-spousal or survivor benefits because of the GPO, you need to do so because the Social Security Administration is not aware of your situation. Regardless of whether you have filed for these benefits, call 800-772-1213 or make an appointment to see if you are eligible. Also, if you know others in this situation, let them know.
Remember: Take the wrong benefit at the wrong time, and it’s usually smaller and forever.
