Social Security Fairness Act Information
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
On January 5, 2025, H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act—a bill Senator Murkowski has co-sponsored for over twenty years—finally became law. This bill eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of those who receive a pension from a job not covered by Social Security, and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces the benefits of a spouse who received a pension based on earnings not covered by Social Security. The bill also authorizes one year of lump sum retroactive payments for those whose Social Security benefits were reduced by WEP and/or GPO.
Where Can I Find More Information?
The Social Security Administration has created a dedicated webpage to share news about their progress in implementing the law. The page is found at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html. At this page, there is a Subscribe link (in English and in Spanish) so people can sign up to receive emails with news about implementation.
On January 24, 2025, SSA updated this page with a list of Frequently Asked Questions, including answers to questions like:
- When will a person see their Social Security benefit increase because of the Social Security Fairness Act?
- What if a person pays their Medicare premium directly to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services due to the Windfall Elimination Provision or Government Pension Offset reduction?
- How can someone avoid scams about the repeal of WEP and GPO?
When Will I Get My Increased Benefits and Retroactive Payment?
SSA is currently working to calculate benefits changes for those who:
- have never applied for Social Security at all, knowing that they would be impacted by WEP or GPO;
- never applied for spousal benefits knowing they would be impacted by GPO; and
- are among the approximately 500,000 Americans who have cases pending with SSA for other reasons who are also impacted by WEP and/or GPO
SSA is working deliberately and carefully to analyze these three types of cases to determine how they can set up automated processes to adjust beneficiaries’ benefits and provide the retroactive lump sum payments quickly and efficiently. While some of these calculations will be simple, others will be complex; SSA wants to avoid setting up any automated processes that result in unintended consequences.
What Should I Do Now?
If your Social Security benefits have been penalized by WEP/GPO, please ensure your name and address are up-to-date in your profile on ssa.gov. The Social Security Administration will be reaching out proactively, you do not need to reapply for Social Security benefits.
If WEP/GPO have prevented you from applying for Social Security benefits, you can apply now at https://www.ssa.gov/apply
Alternatively, now that the SSA has established a dedicated unit of employees to take the claims of those who have not previously filed for Social Security benefits under Retirement, Spouse, and/or Survivor claims due to WEP or GPO, you can call the SSA’s National 800 number (1-800-772-1213) and your call will be connected to this dedicated team of technicians who can take claims immediately. This line is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This team will review claims whether they are submitted online or by phone.
