The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). This law eliminates reductions in Social Security benefits for public servants with non-covered pensions, with full benefits restored retroactively from January 2024.
The Social Security Fairness Act, was signed into law on January 5, 2025. The law ends two statutory reductions for railroad retirees, their spouses, and survivors who are receiving public pensions from work not covered by social security.
Over the last decade the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase has averaged about 3.1 percent. 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.
First, Who's Eligible? The new law impacts individuals who worked in state or local government positions where they didn't contribute to Social Security, but also held jobs where they did pay into Social Security. The Social Security Administration has outlined the following groups who may be eligible: Teachers.
Will every teacher, firefighter, police officer, or public worker receive a benefit increase because of the Social Security Fairness Act? No, not necessarily. Only those whose Social Security benefits have been reduced due to WEP and GPO will see their benefits change under this new law.
The law applies to Social Security benefits beginning in 2024 and moving forward. According to the Congressional Budget Office, beneficiaries will see an average monthly increase of $360.
What's changed? The Social Security Fairness Act, signed in January 2025, cancels and ends two outdated provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset act (GPO) — that had reduced Social Security benefits for public servants with government pensions.
Yet the Social Security Administration has said it may take more than a year to process all of the benefit changes. "Congress either provides funding to cover the implementation costs, or SSA is going to struggle to work these cases," one expert says.
Yes, a bill to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) was passed by Congress and signed into law as the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, becoming effective for benefits payable after December 2023. This landmark bipartisan legislation ended decades of reduced Social Security benefits for many former public servants, like teachers and law enforcement, who also earned pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security.
For the average retired worker, the 2.8 percent COLA is expected to increase their monthly benefit by about $56. This will raise the average payment from approximately $2,008 in 2025 to about $2,064 in 2026. Social Security retirement beneficiaries will see this increase reflected in their January 2026 payments.
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.
Final Congressional action on the bill took place when the Conference Report was passed by voice vote on August 8, 1935 in the House and on August 9th in the Senate. On August 14, 1935 President Roosevelt signed the bill into law at a ceremony in the White House Cabinet Room.
The act eliminates the government pension offset, which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, has effectively ended the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), restoring full Social Security benefits for millions of public servants (like teachers, police) and surviving spouses who previously had their benefits reduced due to receiving public pensions from non-Social Security-covered work. The Social Security Administration (SSA) began paying retroactive lump sums and increasing monthly benefits starting in early 2025, with most adjustments processed by March/April, and the law applies retroactively to January 2024.
Congress Repeals WEP/GPO: A Landmark Vote for Eligible Social Security Beneficiaries. In a historic vote in the early morning hours of December 21, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.
Your Social Security benefit could increase significantly under the Social Security Fairness Act, depending on your work history, with estimates showing average boosts of around $360/month (WEP-affected) to $1,190/month (GPO-affected), plus retroactive lump-sum payments back to January 2024, as the Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) for many public servants. The exact amount varies, from small increases to over $1,000 monthly, impacting those with non-Social Security pensions, and you should receive a notice from the SSA.
Because the Social Security Fairness Act applies retroactively, this payment returns withheld benefits from January 2024 onward and will be paid directly into retirees' bank accounts on file. Payments are expected by the end of March. SSA will also begin adjusting new monthly benefit totals for retirees.
The Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025. The Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
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.