Law-change guide · Reviewed September 5, 2026
Social Security Fairness Act for Federal Employees
The Social Security Fairness Act ended WEP and GPO for benefits payable after December 2023. It can increase Social Security for some Civil Service Retirement System retirees, spouses, and survivors with non-covered pensions. A FERS pension alone generally was not subject to these offsets. SSA—not OPM—determines your Social Security entitlement and payment.
The short answer
The Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduced some workers’ own Social Security benefits, and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduced some spouse and survivor benefits. It did not increase every federal employee’s benefit, change a FERS annuity, or choose a Social Security claiming age.
Does the Fairness Act change my federal retirement or Social Security benefit?
| Situation | Likely Act effect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| FERS-only pension | Usually no direct change | Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) wages are covered by Social Security. WEP and GPO generally did not reduce benefits solely because of a FERS pension. |
| CSRS or other non-covered pension | Possible own-record increase | The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) no longer reduces a worker benefit because of a pension from employment not covered by Social Security. |
| Spouse with a non-covered pension | Possible spouse-benefit increase | The Government Pension Offset (GPO) no longer reduces a Social Security spouse benefit by two-thirds of the non-covered pension. |
| Survivor with a non-covered pension | Possible survivor-benefit increase | GPO no longer reduces an otherwise payable surviving-spouse benefit because of the survivor’s non-covered pension. |
What were WEP and GPO—and what did repeal change?
WEP: your own worker benefit
WEP changed the Social Security benefit formula for some people who also earned a pension from work where they did not pay Social Security taxes. Repeal removes that WEP reduction for benefits payable after December 2023. Your actual worker benefit still depends on your covered earnings record and claiming age.
GPO: spouse and survivor benefits
GPO reduced an otherwise payable spouse or surviving-spouse benefit by two-thirds of the person’s non-covered government pension. Repeal removes that offset after December 2023, but ordinary spouse, survivor, family-maximum, and dual-entitlement rules still apply.
How do FERS, CSRS, spouse, and survivor cases differ?
FERS: FERS employees generally pay Social Security tax on federal wages, so a FERS pension by itself was not a WEP/GPO-triggering non-covered pension. You may still have a relevant non-covered pension from earlier federal, state, local, or foreign work.
CSRS and mixed service: Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) service generally was not covered by Social Security. A CSRS retiree with enough separate covered earnings for Social Security may have had WEP applied. CSRS Offset and transfer cases require record-specific review; the separate OPM CSRS Offset annuity reduction was not repealed.
Spouses and survivors: Repeal can restore an otherwise payable spouse or survivor benefit that GPO reduced. It does not create entitlement when ordinary relationship, age, filing, or insured-status rules are not met.
When did repeal apply, and what does SSA say about implementation?
December 2023
SSA identifies this as the last month WEP and GPO applied.
January 2024 benefits
Repeal applies beginning with benefits payable for months after December 2023.
January 5, 2025
The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law.
July 7, 2025
SSA reported completing more than 3.1 million adjustment payments totaling $17 billion for eligible beneficiaries. An individual record can still require action or review.
What does the law not decide?
- Your best claiming age or whether filing now produces the highest lifetime benefit.
- Your FERS or CSRS annuity amount, retirement eligibility, FEHB coverage, TSP strategy, or tax result.
- Whether you satisfy ordinary worker, spouse, divorced-spouse, or survivor entitlement rules.
- Your official adjusted amount, retroactive payment, overpayment status, or filing effective date.
Who is this guide for—and when should I go directly to SSA?
This guide is for federal employees, retirees, spouses, and survivors trying to identify whether WEP or GPO could have affected a benefit. It is not a personalized entitlement decision and cannot inspect your Social Security record.
Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) if you never filed because you expected GPO to eliminate the benefit, if your payment still appears to include an old offset, or if your pension and coverage history are mixed. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers federal annuities, but SSA controls Social Security eligibility and payment records.
Estimate the historical WEP or GPO impact
The calculator reconstructs the former reduction using your benefit and non-covered pension details. It is useful for understanding scale, not for replacing an SSA award notice. It does not determine entitlement, filing retroactivity, taxes, or your best claiming age.
Open the WEP/GPO repeal calculatorRelated Social Security decisions
Primary sources
Educational information only. Verify your record, entitlement, and payment with SSA.