On January 5 President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act eliminating the WEP and GPO for clients who worked in jobs not covered by Social Security. The passage and signing of the Act was a feel-good moment for politicians, who hailed it as a way for everyone to get their “fair share” and be able to “retire with economic security and dignity,” even if there was a certain amount of misrepresentation in the media implying that the workers who had been subject to the WEP had paid into the system their entire careers. This, as we know, is not true. A person who paid into Social Security for 30 years or more was never subject to the WEP. It was only those who had worked in noncovered jobs that DIDN’T pay into Social Security whose benefits based on other, covered earnings were reduced. In any case, the time for debate is over. The WEP and GPO have been repealed, and now it’s time to get the word out to affected clients.
It is our understanding that SSA will make the adjustments automatically back to January 2024. So your WEP clients need do nothing except wait and watch for communications and payments from SSA.
The GPO is a bit different. SSA says that if a person had applied and been denied spousal or survivor benefits due to the GPO, these applications would be revisited and benefits would be paid, also retroactive to January 2024. However, it wouldn’t hurt to follow up, once the dust clears and SSA has started making the adjustments. The people you really want to get the word out to are those who never applied for spousal or survivor benefits because they assumed they wouldn’t be eligible for them. I know that many cases have come through our Software and our Q & A forum where it was clear that a spouse would not be entitled to any spousal or survivor benefits because two-thirds of their pension amount exceeded the benefit. Now, with the repeal of the GPO all these spouses will become entitled to those benefits without regard to their pension. If you have any of these clients you should contact them and encourage them to apply for their spousal or survivor benefits. If entitlement existed back to January 2024, they should note this on their application. Unfortunately, that’s as far back as the new law goes. Anyone denied spousal or survivor benefits (or paid a reduced amount) prior to January 2024 will not be able to recoup those benefits.
The client presentation pertaining to the WEP and GPO has been revised. You’ll see it on the Savvy Presentations page. We are working on a new client reprint article and will have it available shortly, along with revisions to the “What’s New with Social Security: Seven (now Eight) Topics to Watch in 2025.”