With the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) are repealed, effective retroactively to January 2024. Affected retirees will receive their full Social Security benefits without reductions, alongside retroactive lump-sum payments for 2024, with adjusted payments starting in early 2025.
Retirees previously impacted by WEP will see an average monthly benefit increase in social security of $360. Spouses and survivors affected by GPO will receive an average increase in social security of $700–$1,190 per month.
The major Social Security change in 2025 is the full repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, eliminating benefit reductions for public workers with non-covered pensions, with payments and retroactive relief beginning in 2024/2025 for millions of affected retirees. This means full Social Security benefits are restored, with retroactive lump-sum payments and increased monthly amounts coming throughout 2025 for those previously penalized.
On January 5, 2025, President Biden signed H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-273), to repeal the government pension offset provision and the windfall elimination provisions (WEP) (Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, Public Law 118-273, January 5, 2025).
The Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025. The Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
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.
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The Social Security Fairness Act, passed in December, repealed the WEP and GPO, and is retroactive until Jan. 2024.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 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.
Yes – After 1 October 2023, your pension fund will work out whether the pension you built up in the remedy period would have been higher in the final salary scheme. If so, you'll receive an addition to your existing pension.
History. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 98-21) provided for the WEP as a means of eliminating the "windfall" of social security benefits received by beneficiaries who also receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security.
In November 2025, the full retirement age (FRA) — the age at which individuals qualify to receive 100% of their Social Security benefits — increased to 66 years and 10 months for those born in 1959. FRA gradually rises month by month, so in November 2025, those born in January 1959 reached their FRA.
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 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 WEP was repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by President Biden on January 5, 2025. The new law is retroactive to benefits paid in 2024, but it is currently unclear how long it will take the Social Security Administration to fully implement its provisions.
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA):
For the January to March 2025 period, there won't be an increase, as the CPI showed a small dip over the last three months. But don't worry—over the past year, benefits have still grown by 2.0%, helping seniors keep pace with rising living costs.
The repeal of the WEP and GPO will increase the Social Security benefit entitlements of the government worker or retiree who is receiving a pension from work not covered by Social Security.
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. (Note: Some people receive both Social Security benefits and SSI).
Yes, Social Security recipients received a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2025, but the bigger news is that they are getting a larger 2.8% COLA for 2026, announced in October 2025, which began with January 2026 payments, increasing average benefits by about $56 per month. The 2025 COLA was a smaller 2.5% increase, while the 2026 adjustment reflects moderating inflation, leading to higher payments starting in the new year.