Yes, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) have been eliminated. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, repeals these provisions, allowing public employees and others with non-covered pensions to receive full Social Security benefits, retroactive to January 2024, with increased payments starting in early 2025.
What is the Social Security Fairness Act (Act) and who does it help? The Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025. The Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
The Social Security Fairness Act is now the law of the land. More than three million retirees are set to see an increase in their monthly Social Security benefits thanks to the new law, which repeals the decades-old Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) penalties.
On Sunday, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act, which eliminated the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) rules, which had for 40 years unfairly harmed public service retirees.
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, by former President Biden, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules.
The Social Security Fairness Act, HR 82, concerning the Windfall Elimination Program and Government Pension Offset, was signed into law on January 5, 2025. The Act eliminates the reduction of Social Security benefits while entitled to public pensions from work not covered by Social Security.
The dollar amount increase to checks will vary depending on a person's benefit amount, but the average Social Security Retirement benefit, $2,008.31 in July 2025, will grow by about $56.
The Social Security Administration announced in October that beneficiaries will see a 2.8% increase in their monthly payments, known as the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Individuals receiving Social Security benefits will notice the increase starting in January 2026.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the recent WEP-GPO repeal will cost $196 billion over ten years. While that cost might look “modest” at about $20 billion a year, Social Security has been paying benefits for 85 years.
The most recent Trustees Report, released in 2023, projects that the Trust Fund reserves will be depleted in 2034. However, this does not mean that benefits will stop in 2034.
The Social Security Fairness Act, passed in December, repealed the WEP and GPO, and is retroactive until Jan. 2024. This means the benefits that affected retirees would have received absent the WEP and GPO, are owed to them through Jan. 2024.
The COLA was 2.5 percent in 2025. Nearly 71 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 2.8 percent COLA beginning in January 2026. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2025.
Martin Lewis has issued a key state pension update during his Budget special on Thursday, 27 November. The state pension will rise by 4.8% in April 2026, meaning that the new state pension will increase to £12,547.60 a year — just below the frozen personal allowance tax threshold at £12,570.
If you are a member who has been subject to the WEP or GPO, you do not need to take action. Social Security will automatically apply the changes and make the lump-sum payments.
January 5, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law. In November, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) joined 326 members to advance the measure to the Senate. On December 20, 2024, the Senate voted to pass the bill 76-20.
The WEP penalty is highest for workers with 20 or fewer years in Social Security-covered jobs. However, for those with 21–30 years of covered work, the penalty steps down incrementally each year. Once a worker reaches 30 or more years of covered employment, the WEP penalty is eliminated entirely.
The extra $144 added to Social Security usually comes from the Medicare Part B Giveback benefit, offered by some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, which pays back some or all your Part B premium, showing up as extra money in your check if it's deducted from your Social Security. To qualify, you need Original Medicare (Parts A & B), pay your own Part B premium, live in a plan's service area, and enroll in a specific Medicare Advantage plan that offers this "rebate," with the amount varying by plan and location.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026. This increase will affect nearly 71 million Americans who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.