What the Social Security Fairness Act does
The Social Security Fairness Act removes two rules that reduced benefits for people who also receive a government pension. Those rules — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) — have cut benefits for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees since the 1980s. The Act phases out both rules over ten years, meaning more of your Social Security benefit will reach you instead of being withheld.
The change affects people who worked in jobs covered by Social Security and also earned a pension from work not covered by Social Security — typically state or local government positions. If you fall into this group, you will see your Social Security payment increase as the phase-out takes effect, though the exact amount depends on when you were born and when you started receiving benefits.
Key Takeaways
- The Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset are being phased out over ten years, starting with people born in 1955 or later.
- If you receive both a government pension and Social Security, your Social Security payment will increase once the phase-out applies to your birth year.
- The phase-out is gradual — the reduction shrinks by 10 percentage points per year until it reaches zero.
- You do not need to take any action; Social Security will recalculate your benefit automatically once the rule changes apply to you.
- Teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees with pensions are the groups most affected by this change.
How the Windfall Elimination Provision worked
The WEP reduced your Social Security benefit if you received a pension from work that did not pay into Social Security. The reduction could be as much as half of your pension amount, though it was capped at a maximum dollar figure that changes each year. For 2024, the maximum reduction was $895 per month, but the actual cut to your benefit depended on your specific earnings history and pension amount.
The rule was designed to prevent what Congress saw as a windfall — the idea that someone who did not pay Social Security taxes on part of their career should not receive a full benefit based on lower lifetime earnings. In practice, it meant a teacher who paid Social Security taxes on some jobs but earned a pension from a state job would see their Social Security check reduced, even though they had paid into the system.
How the Government Pension Offset worked
The GPO reduced or eliminated spousal and survivor benefits for people who received a government pension. If you were married to someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes, you might have been may have access to to a benefit based on their earnings record. The GPO subtracted two-thirds of your government pension from that spousal benefit, often wiping it out entirely.
This rule affected surviving spouses and children of public employees, as well as divorced spouses in some cases. A widow whose husband paid Social Security taxes throughout his career might receive little or no survivor benefit if she also had a government pension, even though her husband's taxes were meant to protect his family.
Who the phase-out affects
The phase-out applies first to people born in 1955 or later. For each birth year after that, the reduction shrinks by 10 percentage points per year. Someone born in 1955 will see their WEP or GPO reduction cut by 10 percent. Someone born in 1956 will see it cut by 20 percent. By the time people born in 1965 or later reach retirement age, both rules will be gone entirely.
The timeline means that people already receiving benefits will see their payments recalculated and increased as their birth year's phase-out year arrives. People not yet retired will receive higher benefits when they start claiming. The Social Security Administration will handle the recalculation automatically — you do not need to contact them or reapply.
How much your benefit will increase
The exact increase depends on your pension amount, your lifetime Social Security earnings, your birth year, and which rule applied to you. Someone born in 1955 will see a 10 percent reduction in the WEP or GPO cut; someone born in 1960 will see a 50 percent reduction. The increase is not a flat dollar amount — it is a percentage reduction in the penalty that was already being applied to your benefit.
If you are currently receiving benefits and the WEP or GPO is reducing your check, you can contact Social Security to ask what your benefit would have been without the reduction. That gives you a baseline to compare against. Once your birth year's phase-out takes effect, Social Security will recalculate and send you a new benefit statement showing the increase.
When the changes take effect
The phase-out began for people born in 1955 in 2024. Each year, the rule applies to the next birth year cohort. The schedule is:
| Birth Year | Phase-Out Year | Reduction in WEP/GPO |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 2024 | 10% |
| 1956 | 2025 | 20% |
| 1957 | 2026 | 30% |
| 1958 | 2027 | 40% |
| 1959 | 2028 | 50% |
| 1960 | 2029 | 60% |
| 1961 | 2030 | 70% |
| 1962 | 2031 | 80% |
| 1963 | 2032 | 90% |
| 1964 and later | 2033 | 100% (rule eliminated) |
If you were born before 1955, the rules remain in effect at their current level. Congress did not include retroactive changes for earlier birth years, so people already retired under the old rules do not receive back payments for the years the reduction was applied.
What you need to do
You do not need to take any action. Social Security will recalculate your benefit automatically once your birth year's phase-out year arrives. If you are not yet receiving benefits, your initial benefit calculation will use the new rules when you claim. If you are already receiving benefits, Social Security will send you a new benefit statement showing the increase, and your payment will go up in the month after the recalculation.
If you want to know how much your benefit will increase, you can create an account on ssa.gov and view your benefit estimate, or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to speak with a representative. They can tell you what your current benefit is and what it will be once the phase-out applies to your birth year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get back pay for the years the reduction was already applied?
No. The law does not include retroactive payments. If you were born before 1955 and are already receiving reduced benefits, those reductions stay in place. Only future payments are affected by the phase-out.
What if I'm divorced — does this affect my ex-spouse benefits?
Yes, if you were receiving a reduced spousal or survivor benefit because of the GPO, that reduction will shrink according to your birth year's phase-out schedule. The same automatic recalculation applies.
Will this change affect my Medicare or other benefits?
No. The Social Security Fairness Act only changes how your Social Security benefit is calculated. It does not affect Medicare, Medicaid, or any other programs.
What if I haven't claimed Social Security yet — should I wait?
That depends on your situation. If you were born in 1955 or later, your initial benefit will already reflect the phase-out, so waiting does not give you a larger increase from this law. You should consider your overall claiming strategy — age, health, and household income — rather than waiting for this change.
How do I know if the WEP or GPO applies to me?
If you receive a pension from a government job that did not pay Social Security taxes, and you also receive or will receive Social Security based on your own work record or as a spouse or survivor, one of these rules likely applies. You can check your Social Security statement on ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213 to confirm.