The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) was signed into law on January 5, 2025, officially repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The new law eliminates these reductions for benefits payable after December 2023, with retroactivity to that date.
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, 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 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.
The repeal of the WEP is effective for months after December 2023. The bill was signed in January 2025. Individuals subject to the limitations received the limited benefits through December 2024. The example described below is used to discuss how the repeal would affect an individual subject to the limitation in 2024.
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.
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.
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 The Social Security Fairness Act, signed in January 2025, cancels and ends two outdated provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset act (GPO) — that had reduced Social Security benefits for public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.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that starting the week of February 24, 2025, it will pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
In 2039, the year after the trust funds are projected to be exhausted, the poverty rate would double from 2 percent to 4 percent for beneficiaries who were between the ages of 64 and 78 in that year.
Bush financed income tax cuts and the Iraq war by plundering money from Social Security.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Those who are due retroactive benefits will receive one-time payments by the end of March, which will cover the increased benefit amounts back to January 2024. Since Social Security benefits are paid one month behind, most affected beneficiaries will receive their new monthly benefit amounts in April 2025.
And now, it's the law of the land! Here's what you need to know: The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) from the Social Security Act.
According to the June 2025 Social Security trustees report, the fund reserves that help pay for Social Security benefits will be depleted in 2033. Benefits won't run out, but retirees would then only be able to receive 77% of their full benefits.