Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO repeal explained

For decades, two rules quietly cut the Social Security benefits of people who also had a pension from work that did not pay into Social Security: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Many retired teachers, firefighters, police officers and federal workers under the old Civil Service Retirement System knew them well, usually as a smaller check than they expected. Both are gone. The Social Security Fairness Act ended them, and most of the money owed has already been paid.

If you or a parent spent a career in one of those jobs, there may still be something to do, especially if you never applied because you assumed the old rules made it pointless. This guide uses the Social Security Administration's own page on the law, listed at the end, which the agency has kept updated as it put the change in place.

What the law did

The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025. It ends WEP and GPO, which, in SSA's words, reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 2.8 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 on that work.

WEP reduced the retirement or disability benefit you earned on your own record.
GPO reduced, and often eliminated, a spouse's or surviving spouse's benefit on someone else's record.

SSA names the kinds of workers whose benefits go up:

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

Not every public employee gets a raise

News stories made it sound as if every teacher or public worker would get more. SSA corrects that directly: only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see an increase. Most state and local public employees, about 72%, work in jobs covered by Social Security, pay Social Security taxes, and were never affected by WEP or GPO. They do not get an increase from the new law.

The same logic applies to federal workers. CSRS employees did not pay Social Security tax on their federal pay, so CSRS annuitants were the federal retirees hit by WEP and GPO, and CSRS is the federal system SSA names. Military retired pay is not a non-covered pension either: military pay has been covered by Social Security since 1957, as SSA explains in its publication on military service, so the guide to Social Security and military service is the one that applies to military retirees.

When it took effect, and how far back it goes

December 2023 is the last month WEP and GPO applied. The new rules cover benefits payable for January 2024 and later. Because Social Security pays one month behind, the January 2024 benefit would generally have been received in February 2024.

SSA's timeline for people who were already receiving reduced benefits:

February 25, 2025: SSA began adjusting monthly payments.
A one-time payment covered the increase back to January 2024, deposited to the bank account on file.
April 2025: most affected beneficiaries began receiving the new monthly amount (for their March 2025 benefit).
July 7, 2025: SSA said it had sent more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion, five months ahead of schedule.

SSA mails a notice to anyone whose monthly benefit changes or who gets a past-due payment. Some people get two notices: one when WEP or GPO is removed from their record, and another when the monthly amount is adjusted. The payment can arrive before the letter.

How much more?

It varies a great deal. SSA says that, depending on the type of benefit and the size of the pension, some people's benefits increase very little, while others may be eligible for more than $1,000 more each month. Because GPO could eliminate a spouse's or surviving spouse's benefit entirely, for some people the change restores a benefit that had been zero.

What to do now

If you were already getting a reduced benefit

If your retirement or disability benefit was reduced by WEP, or your spouse's or survivor's benefit was reduced or eliminated by GPO, and SSA has your correct mailing address and direct deposit, SSA says no action is needed. To check, sign in to your my Social Security account, or call 1-800-772-1213 if you cannot create one.

If you never applied

This is the group most likely to be leaving money on the table. Many people skipped applying for their own retirement benefit because WEP would have shrunk it, or skipped a spouse's or survivor's benefit because GPO would have erased it. SSA says you may need to file an application, and the date you apply can affect when benefits begin and how much you get. All the other rules still apply, including the reduction for claiming before full retirement age and the retirement earnings test.

Where to apply, according to SSA:

Retirement or spouse's benefits: online at ssa.gov/apply. Choosing "Family Benefits" takes you to the retirement and Medicare application, so you are considered for everything you are entitled to.
By phone, for people who did not apply because of WEP or GPO: 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
Surviving spouse's benefits: by phone only; the survivor application is not available online.

Do not wait on back pay

The law did not change how far back a new application can reach. SSA explains that retroactive benefits for some retirement and survivor claims are generally limited to six months before the month you apply, and some disability claims to 12 months. Every month you wait to apply can be a month you do not get back. SSA has encouraged anyone who never applied, or is not sure, to consider applying for that reason.

If you are deciding when to start your own retirement benefit, the guide to when to start Social Security and the break-even calculator help with the timing. Spouses and survivors can read the spousal benefits guide and the survivor benefits guide.

Medicare premiums: a practical wrinkle

People who never collected Social Security often paid their Medicare premiums some other way. SSA's guidance:

If you pay Medicare directly, keep paying the bill until SSA sends a notice, so coverage does not stop. Once Social Security payments start, the premium comes out of them, and you are billed for any remainder if the benefit is not enough. If you prepaid, you get any applicable refund.
If you use Medicare Easy Pay, stop the automatic payments with form SF-5510 or online at Medicare.gov; if you pay through your bank's online bill pay, ask the bank to stop it.
If the premium came out of a CSRS annuity, SSA will tell you when it starts deducting it from Social Security instead. The refund is usually in the back payment; if not, it comes at the end of the calendar quarter. Contact SSA if it has not arrived within six weeks after the quarter ends.
If premiums were taken from both your Social Security and your OPM annuity, CMS is working on it and will refund any extra. You do not need to call, but 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) can help with questions.

For the premium amounts themselves, see the Medicare Part B premium page.

Why SSA might still ask about your pension

WEP and GPO still apply to months before January 2024. If SSA needs to confirm it paid you correctly for those earlier months, it may send a request for your non-covered pension amount. You do not need to report pension changes on your own; SSA will write if it needs updated information.

Watch for scams

Money and a confusing law attract scammers. SSA is clear: it will never ask you to pay for help or to have benefits started, increased or paid. Hang up on, and do not click links from, anyone offering to raise or speed up your benefits for a fee. SSA's page on scams, ssa.gov/scams, explains how to report them to its Office of the Inspector General.

A checklist

Find out whether your pension, or your spouse's, came from work that did not pay Social Security tax. If not, the law does not change your benefit.
If you were already collecting a reduced benefit, confirm SSA has your current address and bank account in my Social Security.
If you never applied for your own benefit or a spouse's or survivor's benefit because of WEP or GPO, apply now; back pay is limited to about six months.
Sort out how your Medicare premium is paid so you do not pay twice or let coverage lapse.
Keep SSA's notices; you may get two.
Never pay anyone to "unlock" a benefit increase.