
16 Jan The Social Security Fairness Act
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, removes two rules that previously reduced Social Security benefits for certain government workers. These rules were called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
Who was affected by these rules?
- Government employees like teachers, police officers, and firefighters
- People who worked in jobs where they didn’t pay Social Security tax but received a government pension
- Their spouses and survivors who were eligible for Social Security benefits
What changes with the new law?
- People affected by WEP will get their full Social Security benefits based on their work history, without reductions
- Spouses and survivors will get their full Social Security benefits without reductions from GPO
- The changes are retroactive to January 2024, meaning people will get back payments for any reductions since then
What should affected people do?
- Make sure your address and direct deposit information is up-to-date with Social Security
- If you never applied for spousal benefits because of GPO, consider applying now
- If you’re currently receiving your own Social Security benefits, check if switching to spousal benefits would give you more money
The Social Security Administration will provide more details about how these changes will be implemented, including how and when people will receive their increased benefits and back payments. We recommend allowing this to unfold for a month or two before calling in – hold times are extremely long.
While this is good news for current and soon-to-be retirees, it does add costs to the Social Security system. This could lead to future changes in Social Security benefits, especially for younger workers who won’t retire for many years. We will be following any additional changes closely and will let you know if our stance on the health of the program changes. For now, we are elated for those of you who will benefit from this change!
You can read more or apply for benefits here: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html
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The commentary in this post (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of Angela Wright, an Investment Adviser Representative of Gemmer Asset Management LLC (“GAM”) and should not be regarded as the views of GAM, or a description of advisory services provided by GAM or performance returns of any GAM client. References to securities or market-related performance data are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.