Author: Bob Braunstein, Federal Benefits Specialist

The recently implemented Social Security Fairness Act repealed two provisions that have had a long-term adverse impact on many Social Security beneficiaries – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), also known as the “evil twins”. Both WEP and GPO were byproducts of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 which addressed “a looming financial crisis within the Social Security system.” The amendments included increases to payroll taxes, delayed cost of living adjustments, Federal taxes on higher beneficiary payments, and raising the Full Retirement Age from 65 to 67. The amendments also introduced WEP and GPO which altered the calculation and diminished the Social Security benefits of pensioners and annuitants who had escaped the payroll tax for some or most of their income.

• WEP reduced the benefits of individuals who receive both Social Security benefits and a pension from employment not covered by Social Security. This was seen as giving them two benefits that resulted in a higher combined benefit than Social Security alone and was, therefore, characterized as a “windfall”. 

• GPO prevented individuals from receiving both a Social Security spousal or survivor benefit and a non-covered government pension, which was then seen as “double dipping” into the Social Security system. GPO attempted to eliminate double dipping by reducing spousal benefits by two-thirds of non-covered pension amounts, ensuring that the total income did not exceed the higher of the two benefits.

Over time, these provisions began to disproportionately reduce the Social Security benefits of retired middle and low-wage earners who had retired from non-Social Security covered jobs like school teachers, firefighters, and police officers – and in the Federal government, those who retired under CSRS or similar non-contributory coverage.  This, in turn, reduced or eliminated the Social Security entitlements of their spouses and surviving spouses.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is now working to remove the effects of WEP and GPO from affected beneficiary payments. Many have already received retroactive benefit payments (which go back to January 1, 2024) and are now receiving their full monthly entitlements. SSA anticipates all retroactive payments and monthly adjustments will be completed by November 2025.

If you were affected by either WEP or GPO and have not seen adjustments to your benefit, you can either contact your local Social Security Administration (SSA) office or login to your online Social Security account for updated information. If you don’t have an online account, create one by following these steps. 

• Go to ssa.gov/myaccount and click “Create an Account.” 
•  You will then be directed to either Login.gov or ID.me to create a credential or use an existing one. 
• Once you have a Login.gov or ID.me account, you’ll be redirected back to ssa.gov/myaccount to finalize account creation with a username, password, and security questions. 

For more information, please visit: Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) update | SSA

Bob Braunstein is a retired Federal employee who was last employed as a Senior Human Resources Consultant with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) at the Department of the Treasury. During his Federal career, he served in a full range of HR positions spanning recruitment, staffing, employee relations, retirement and benefits, and position classification/management disciplines.  He is a retirement and benefits instructor for NITP. 

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