The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealed two rules that had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for about 2.8 million people who also receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security. Most affected retirees — teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal employees under the older civil service system — are now getting higher monthly checks plus a retroactive lump sum covering months back to January 2024. By July 2025, the Social Security Administration had issued more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update
Which Rules Were Repealed
The law struck down the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Both had cut Social Security payments for people who also drew a “non-covered pension” — a pension from a job where the employer didn’t withhold Social Security taxes.2Social Security Administration. Program Explainer: Windfall Elimination Provision
The WEP applied to your own retirement or disability benefit. If you qualified for Social Security through other jobs where you did pay in, the WEP used a less generous formula to calculate the amount. It was added in 1983 to keep people with large government pensions from being treated like low-wage workers under Social Security’s tilted benefit formula, but it also penalized workers who genuinely split a career between covered and non-covered jobs. The Fairness Act repealed the WEP paragraph of 42 U.S.C. § 415.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 415 – Computation of Primary Insurance Amount
The GPO applied to spousal and survivor benefits. It subtracted two-thirds of your non-covered pension from any Social Security benefit you were owed as a spouse or survivor. For many people, that erased the benefit. Someone with a $3,000 monthly government pension lost $2,000 from a spousal benefit, turning a $2,100 payment into $100.4Social Security Administration. Government Pension Offset Under the Fairness Act, that person now receives the full $2,100.
Who Gets More Money
The increase applies only to people whose Social Security benefit was being reduced by WEP or GPO. If your employer withheld Social Security taxes from your paycheck, neither rule ever applied to you, and nothing about your benefit changes.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update About 72 percent of state and local public employees already work in Social Security-covered jobs and see no change.
The workers commonly affected are:
- State and local public employees — teachers, firefighters, and police officers — in states where those jobs weren’t covered by Social Security
- Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which predated Social Security coverage for federal workers
- Workers whose employment was covered by another country’s social security system
The higher payment can be on your own work record, or a spousal or survivor benefit based on someone else’s record.
How Much Benefits Went Up
Increases vary widely. Across the 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion, the average works out to roughly $360 per month.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update Some people saw under $100 more; others gained more than $1,000 a month.
The biggest jumps went to surviving spouses whose survivor benefit had been zeroed out by the GPO. Before the Fairness Act, a surviving spouse with a $2,500 government pension lost $1,667 to the offset, often wiping out the benefit entirely. Those individuals went from receiving nothing to receiving the full survivor amount.
Retroactive Payments and the Rollout
The changes apply retroactively for all months after December 2023, so January 2024 was the first month WEP and GPO no longer applied. Anyone whose benefits were reduced during 2024 or early 2025 is owed a lump sum for the difference.5Congress.gov. Implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
The SSA moved faster than planned:
- February 25, 2025: adjustments to monthly benefit payments began
- April 2025: most beneficiaries started receiving the new, higher monthly amount
- July 7, 2025: the SSA finished sending more than 3.1 million payments, five months ahead of the original schedule1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update
Lump sums were deposited to the bank account the SSA had on file. Official notices with the new monthly amount were sent by mail.
What You Need to Do
If you were already receiving a benefit that WEP or GPO was reducing when the law took effect, you probably don’t need to do anything. The SSA processed most adjustments automatically. Log in at ssa.gov/myaccount to confirm your mailing address and direct deposit are current.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update
The situation is different if you never applied because you knew WEP or GPO would wipe out your payment. You need to file an application, and the filing date matters. The Fairness Act did not change the general rule that limits retroactivity on benefit applications to six months. If you waited until mid-2025 or later to apply, you may not be able to collect the full back amount going all the way to January 2024.5Congress.gov. Implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 Anyone who hasn’t applied should do so now to limit further loss of back pay.
Retirement and spousal applications can be filed online at ssa.gov/apply. Survivor applications aren’t available online; call 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO Update
Taxes on the Lump Sum
The retroactive payment is taxable income in the year you receive it, and tax forms for that year will reflect the additional amount.6Railroad Retirement Board. Frequently Asked Questions About the Social Security Fairness Act A large 2025 deposit covering 15 months of back benefits can push you into a higher bracket or increase the share of your regular Social Security payments subject to income tax that year.
If your retroactive payment was substantial, talk to a tax professional before filing your 2025 return. The IRS allows a special method for calculating tax on lump-sum Social Security benefits attributable to earlier years, and it can reduce the bill.