Social Security Fairness Act – Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), GPO Repeal Update

If you or your spouse have social security benefits that have in the past been affected by the WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) or GPO (Government Pension Offset) programs, there’s big news for you:

In January of 2025 the Social Security Fairness Act was passed which eliminates the WEP and GPO.

These were facets of Social Security that reduced people’s monthly benefit if you had a public pension in the past.

 

Does Social Security WEP or GPO Impact You?

How do you know if this affects you?

First off you need to know whether or not you have a social security benefit to begin with. Did you work for a private employer or the federal government – some place where you had a work history that entitles you to some kind of social security benefit?

In total, WEP and GPO impacted more than 3 million retirees.

One of the largest group of people impacted are former Federal employees who performed federal work under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) after 1956.

Second do you have a public pension? Were you in one of those occupations like a school teacher a police officer or a state or local government worker that was entitled to a pension where you didn’t pay social security on those same benefits.

That group, if that is you, will be seeing a bump or an increase in your Social Security benefits

Increase in Social Security Benefits

How much will your Social Security Benefits increase?

The way to check this is to look at your Social Security benefits statement that we have all available to us through the my Social Security portal. Your social security statement never showed the effect of WEP or GPO in the past. So, what it’s showing you now is the benefit that you’re entitled to.

If you’re already on Social Security benefits this change is retroactive to the beginning of 2024 which could mean a pretty substantial increase for your payment, and retroactive payments for your 2024 benefits as well.

If you have not yet started Social Security you’re going to want to make an appointment with the Social Security Administration to have this recalculated for your monthly benefit.

Financial Planning Strategies for Affected Retirees

If you are receiving an increase in benefits due to the Social Security Fairness Act, it’s important to consider how this impacts your overall retirement plan. Here are a few key steps:

• Reassess Your Budget: With potentially higher monthly income, you may have more flexibility in retirement spending.
• Tax Implications: Higher Social Security benefits may push some retirees into a higher tax bracket or impact how much of their Social Security income is taxable.
• Estate Planning Adjustments: If your Social Security benefits increase, it may be worth reviewing beneficiary designations, withdrawal strategies from retirement accounts, and other estate planning considerations.
• Medicare and Other Benefits: Increased Social Security income could impact income-based programs like Medicare IRMAA surcharges or eligibility for certain state benefits. Be sure to check how this change affects your healthcare and other financial assistance programs.
• Investment Allocation: An increase in your fixed income may mean it makes sense to adjust your asset allocation. You may need less fixed income investments like bonds, and more in stocks.

Why Was the Social Security Fairness Act Passed?

The WEP and GPO were originally introduced to prevent “double-dipping” in retirement benefits, but over time, many argued that these provisions unfairly penalized public-sector workers.

Advocates for repeal highlighted that these reductions unfairly impacted teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other government employees, leaving them with significantly lower Social Security benefits than expected.

The passage of the Social Security Fairness Act represents a major policy shift aimed at ensuring that public-sector retirees receive the full benefits they earned.