On January 5, 2025, President Biden signed into law the bipartisan supported Social Security Fairness Act, also known as H.R. 82, amending Title II of the Social Security Act by repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). These provisions have been law for nearly 40 years, as the GPO and WEP were enacted respectively in 1977 and 1983. The Social Security Fairness Act will financially benefit a considerable number of public employees whose employers withhold Social Security taxes from salaries.
Proponents of the new legislation contend that the former federal rules unfairly reduced Social Security benefits for those Americans who also receive government pensions. Not only did the repealed rules reduce Social Security benefits for those employees who also received other governmental pensions, but they also caused adverse financial impact on Social Security benefits for spouses and survivors of these government employees. The legislative rationale for the now repealed Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision was that an individual who received a government pension should not also receive Social Security benefits under the same formula as a retiree with no similar pension.
However, now after years of unequal application of the Social Security laws, the Social Security Fairness Act will increase Social Security benefits for millions of current and former public employees who receive a pension from their public employment to the extent that they also contribute into Social Security.
According to the Congressional Budget Office report issued in September 2024, it is estimated that eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision will increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by $360, on average, for 2.1 million Social Security beneficiaries. In December 2033, that increase would reach $460, on average, for 1.8 million beneficiaries.
In addition, the Budget Office estimates that eliminating the Government Pension Offset will increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 spouses and by an average of $1,190 for 390,000 surviving spouses. In December 2033, that increase would reach $860, on average, for 330,000 spouses and $1,520 for 480,000 surviving spouses.
