On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 (the Act) was signed into law.[1] The Act implements a full repeal of two provisions of the Social Security Act[2], namely, the Windfall Elimination Provision[3] (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset[4] (GPO). The WEP and GPO impacted the monthly benefits payable under the Social Security Act to workers and their eligible family members in the event of a worker’s retirement, disability or death.
Government Pension Offset (GPO)
The GPO, enacted in 1977, adjusted Social Security benefits for any spouse and/or widow(er) of someone who received “non-covered pensions.” A “non-covered pension” is paid by an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes from the employee’s salary, typically, state and local governments or non-U.S. employers.[5]
The purpose of the GPO was to implement certain benefit reductions in an effort to aid in equalizing the spousal and widow(er) benefits of employees who received covered and non-covered lifetime pensions.[6] For certain individuals who the GPO applied to, their Social Security spousal or widow(er) benefits were reduced by two-thirds of their non-covered government pensions by applying a 67% offset to their benefit calculations.[7]
Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
The WEP, enacted in 1983, adjusted Social Security benefits of certain retired or disabled workers and their family members, who were also entitled to pension benefits based on their earnings from non-covered jobs.[8]
The Social Security benefits formula posed some difficulties as it could not differentiate between those who worked in low-paid jobs throughout their careers and other workers who appeared to have been low-paid because they worked for many years in jobs that were not covered by Social Security and thereby had the possibility of receiving an unintended advantage or windfall from Social Security.
The purpose of the WEP was to prevent certain individuals who received non-covered pensions from receiving higher Social Security benefits as if they were long-time, low-wage earners, and to remove this unintended advantage or windfall that some workers would otherwise receive from Social Security.[9]
Impact of Repealing the WEP and GPO
The enactment of the Act (i.e., the repeal of the WEP and GPO) has been celebrated by public employees such as police officers, firefighters and teachers across the United States and specifically within California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado, Louisiana and Georgia, as these nine states alone accounted for nearly 60% of affected beneficiaries.[10]
As of January 2025, it was estimated that the Act would increase the monthly benefits to approximately 3.2 million individuals and potentially provide retroactive payments for benefits paid dating back to January 2024.[11]
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that by December 2025, the elimination of the GPO could increase monthly benefits by an average of $700 for affected spousal beneficiaries and by an average of $1,190 for affected widow(er) beneficiaries, and that the elimination of the WEP could increase monthly benefits by an average of $360 for affected worker beneficiaries and their dependents.[12] However, such increases in benefits will vary depending on each individual’s circumstances and other applicable adjustments.
Potential Collateral Effects
The Act may also impact other components of Social Security and other programs. This may include, without limitation, the solvency of the Social Security program in general, Social Security overpayments, the Social Security Statement, the Social Security Special Minimum Benefit, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicare Part B premiums.[13]
Timeline for Implementation of the Act
The Social Security Administration (SSA) expects it could take over a year to fully implement the Act and the resulting adjustments to benefits. This lengthy implementation period is due to the Act requiring the SSA to recalculate and adjust the past and future benefits for over 3 million individuals.
The SSA has indicated that the implementation of the Act will increase its administrative workload in the short term; however, in the long term, the implementation of the Act is expected to reduce the SSA’s workload, which was previously associated with applying the GPO and WEP calculations manually, verifying benefits and managing the claw back process relating to the overpayment of benefits that can result from the application of these calculations.[14]
Given the uncertainty of and potential for reduction in the SSA’s workforce moving forward under the new administration, this one-year implementation timeline may be extended. The SSA plans to provide updates on its website as changes come about.
In conclusion, public employees across the United States have been negatively affected by the WEP and GPO and have been lobbying for their repeal since their enactment 30 years ago. The Act finally addresses their concerns and aims to provide the relief they and their beneficiaries have sought relative to their Social Security benefits.
If you have questions about how these changes impact your circumstances and estate planning, our attorneys are available by appointment to discuss your concerns.
[1] Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 (P.L. No. 118-273) (2025).
[2] 42 U.S.C. 402(k).
[3] Windfall Elimination Provision (P.L. No. 98-21) (1983).
[4] Government Pension Offset (P.L. No. 95-216) (1977).
[5] ssa.gov/policy/docs/program-explainers/government-pension-offset.html
[6] ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2023/supplement23.pdf, Page 16.
[7] crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12890
[8] Id.
[9] Brown, Jeffrey R., and Scott Weisbenner (2012) “The Distributional Effects of the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #18342.
[10] crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12890
[11] ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html?tl=0
[12] crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12890
[13] Id.
[14] Id.