Government Pension Offset Eliminated: 2025 Fairness Act

Last Updated: March 17, 2026

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, permanently eliminated both WEP and GPO. Approximately 2.8 million government pension recipients — including teachers, police officers, and federal CSRS employees — received higher monthly benefits beginning February 2025, plus retroactive lump-sum payments covering January 2024 through the adjustment date. According to the Social Security Administration, spousal and survivor benefits previously wiped out by GPO are now fully restored.

If you or someone you know spent a career in a government job — a state or local position, a school district, a firefighting or police department — without paying into Social Security, two provisions once severely reduced your Social Security benefits: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

As of January 5, 2025, both are gone.

The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, permanently eliminating WEP and GPO. Approximately 2.8 million Americans who had their benefits reduced by these provisions began receiving higher monthly payments in early 2025, plus retroactive lump-sum payments covering adjustments back to January 2024.

This article explains what WEP and GPO were, what changed, who received retroactive payments, and what you should do now.

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The Big News: WEP and GPO Are Gone

Before getting into historical background, the most important facts:

WEP and GPO were permanently eliminated by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025 Retroactive adjustments apply back to January 2024 (the last month WEP/GPO applied was December 2023) The SSA began adjusting monthly benefits on February 25, 2025 Retroactive lump-sum payments — covering the months from January 2024 through the date of adjustment — were completed by July 2025 Approximately $17 billion in total retroactive payments were distributed ~2.8 million people received increased monthly benefits

If you were previously subject to WEP or GPO reductions, you should already be receiving your corrected monthly benefit and should have received your retroactive payment.

What Were WEP and GPO? (Historical Background)

Understanding WEP and GPO matters for two reasons: it explains how the retroactive payment amounts were calculated, and it helps you verify that your adjustment was correct.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

WEP affected workers who received a pension from a job where they did not pay Social Security taxes (called "non-covered" employment) but also had enough Social Security-covered work to qualify for Social Security retirement or disability benefits.

Why WEP existed: Social Security's benefit formula is weighted to replace a higher percentage of income for lower-wage workers. The SSA believed that workers with non-covered pensions appeared to have low average Social Security wages (because the non-covered years showed no earnings), making them look like low earners — and thus receive a disproportionately high Social Security benefit relative to their actual total career earnings.

What WEP did: It modified the Social Security benefit formula for affected workers, reducing their Social Security benefit — typically by $100–$500/month, depending on circumstances.

Who was affected by WEP: Workers who:

• Had fewer than 30 years of "substantial earnings" in Social Security-covered employment, AND
• Also received a pension from non-covered employment (state/local government, some federal employment)

Workers with 30 or more years of substantial covered earnings were exempt from WEP entirely.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO)

GPO was more severe than WEP. It affected workers who received a pension from non-covered government employment and also wanted to claim Social Security spousal or survivor benefits.

What GPO did: For every $3 in government pension income, the SSA reduced the spousal or survivor Social Security benefit by $2. In many cases — often for teachers, firefighters, and other public employees with substantial pensions — GPO eliminated spousal and survivor benefits entirely.

Who was affected by GPO: Those who:

• Received a pension from non-covered government employment, AND
• Were eligible for Social Security spousal or survivor benefits (on a spouse's or deceased spouse's record)

Why GPO hurt so much: Many public employees — particularly teachers in states where school districts don't participate in Social Security — had no Social Security benefit of their own and relied on their spouse's benefit. GPO wiped out that spousal benefit almost completely in many cases.

Who Was Affected by WEP and GPO?

The workers most commonly affected were those in non-covered employment — jobs that did not participate in Social Security. These included many:

• Teachers in states where school districts opted out of Social Security (including California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas, among others)
• State and local government employees in states or jurisdictions that chose not to participate in Social Security
• Some federal employees, particularly those who entered federal service before 1984 and are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) rather than FERS
• Police officers and firefighters in departments not covered by Social Security
• Other public sector workers in non-covered positions

Key point: Social Security participation varies by state and jurisdiction. Not all teachers or government workers were affected — only those in positions that did not withhold Social Security taxes (FICA).

What the Social Security Fairness Act Changed

The Social Security Fairness Act (Public Law 119-5), signed by President Biden on January 5, 2025, did one thing: it repealed both WEP and GPO entirely.

The calculation changes that resulted:

For WEP-affected workers:

• Their Social Security retirement or disability benefit is now calculated using the standard formula without the WEP reduction
• This means their benefit returned to the amount it would have been without the WEP offset applied

For GPO-affected workers (spousal/survivor benefits):

• The two-thirds government pension offset no longer applies to spousal or survivor benefits
• Workers who received zero in spousal or survivor benefits due to GPO may now receive their full spousal or survivor benefit
• Workers whose benefits were partially reduced by GPO now receive the full, unreduced spousal or survivor benefit

The net effect for most affected retirees: A meaningful increase in monthly income. The SSA reported average monthly benefit increases of several hundred dollars for many affected individuals, though the actual amount varies widely based on the size of the government pension and the Social Security benefit calculation.

Retroactive Payments: What You May Be Owed

Because the law was signed on January 5, 2025, and applies retroactively to January 2024, there is a gap of approximately 12-13 months during which the old WEP and GPO rules still appeared on benefits checks while the law had already changed.

Timeline of payments:

• January 2024 – December 2023: Last period WEP/GPO applied (December 2023 was the last affected month)
• January 2024: Retroactive adjustment period begins
• February 25, 2025: SSA began adjusting monthly payments to reflect elimination of WEP/GPO
• July 2025: SSA completed retroactive lump-sum payments to approximately 2.8 million affected individuals

What the retroactive payment covers: The lump-sum payment covered the difference between what beneficiaries received from January 2024 through their adjustment date, and what they should have received without WEP/GPO. The SSA calculated this automatically for affected beneficiaries.

If you believe you were affected but have not received your adjustment: Contact the SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local SSA office. You can also check your benefit status at ssa.gov/myaccount.

Which Jobs and States Were Typically Affected

Not all government employees were subject to WEP and GPO. The key question is whether your employment paid into Social Security.

States where many teachers did NOT pay into Social Security (non-covered positions were common): California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas, among others. (Rules vary by district and have changed over time.)

Federal employees:

• FERS employees (hired after 1984) generally pay into Social Security
• CSRS employees (hired before 1984) often did not pay into Social Security and were affected by WEP and GPO

How to know if you were affected:

• Check your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount
• Look for references to WEP or GPO reductions in your benefit calculation
• If you have a government pension from a non-covered job AND a Social Security benefit or spousal/survivor claim, WEP or GPO likely applied to you

How to Verify Your Benefit Was Correctly Updated

Given the scale of the adjustment (2.8 million people), verification is worth doing.

Step 1: Check your current benefit amount Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount and review your current monthly benefit. It should no longer show any WEP reduction.

Step 2: Verify you received a retroactive payment If you were subject to WEP or GPO before January 2024, you should have received a retroactive lump-sum payment by July 2025. Check your bank records for a deposit from the U.S. Treasury.

Step 3: Review any award letters from the SSA The SSA sends written notice of benefit changes. Review any letters dated in 2025 explaining your adjustment.

Step 4: If something seems wrong Contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213. Be prepared to provide your Social Security number, pension information, and any documents related to your non-covered employment.

Keep records: If you later need to discuss your WEP or GPO history — for example, for income tax purposes or retroactive payment verification — having documentation of your government pension amount and your pre-elimination Social Security benefit amount will be helpful.

Tax Implications of Your Increased Benefits

If your Social Security benefit increased due to the elimination of WEP or GPO, that increase affects your tax situation.

Combined income: The standard Social Security taxation formula — AGI + nontaxable interest + 50% of Social Security benefits — applies to your full benefit amount now, without WEP reduction. If your benefit increased significantly, you may now be subject to taxes on Social Security where you weren't before, or more of your benefit may be taxable.

The retroactive payment: The lump-sum retroactive payment received in 2025 is taxable Social Security income for the year you received it. The SSA will include it on your 2025 Social Security benefit statement (SSA-1099). You may elect to allocate the lump sum to prior-year tax calculations using IRS lump-sum election rules.

State taxes: If you live in a state that taxes Social Security benefits, your state tax liability may also have increased.

For a complete explanation of how Social Security taxation works, including strategies to manage the tax impact, see our Social Security taxation guide.

For married couples now receiving higher benefits due to the elimination, coordinate your tax planning with our married couples strategy guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Calculate Your Updated Benefits

If you were affected by WEP or GPO, your Social Security picture looks different now. Use our calculator to see your current estimated benefits.

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For married couples and widows/widowers whose survivor benefits were affected by GPO, coordinating your claiming strategy now — without the GPO limitation — can significantly increase household lifetime income.

The $67 Couples Strategy Kit includes:

Benefit worksheets updated for post-WEP/GPO reality Spousal and survivor benefit coordination strategies now that GPO no longer applies Tax planning for your newly increased Social Security income Coordination of pension income with Social Security in retirement

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If you're married and want to optimize your spousal and survivor benefit coordination now that GPO no longer applies, also see our Spousal Benefits Calculator →.

Part of our Special Situations Guide →

Continue learning:

• How Benefits Are Calculated — Understand the Social Security benefit formula
• Married Couples Strategy Guide — Coordinate benefits for maximum household income
• Survivor Benefits Guide — Survivor benefits without GPO reduction
• Should I Claim at 62, 67, or 70? — Your claiming age decision without WEP/GPO complications