Social Security Fairness Act signed into Law

On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law.  This bi-partisan bill eliminates the “Windfall Elimination Provision” (WEP) and the “Governmental Pension Offset” (GPO) that has negatively affected public employees’ Social Security benefits for the past 40 years.

The Social Security Administration is still evaluating how they will be implementing these changes at this time.  However, it has been said that the law will be “effective” as of January 1, 2024, and they will be backdating lost benefits from that date forward.  They’ve also said if you’ve already applied for Social Security benefits and are currently being affected by one of the provisions (WEP or GPO), there is nothing you will need to do and they will automatically be changing and adjusting your benefit.  We are currently unsure when all this will take place.  Below is a URL from Social Security where they said they will update as they have more information and a better timeline. 

Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) update | SSA