The Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on Jan. 5, eliminates the reduction of Social Security benefits while entitled to public pensions from work not covered by Social Security. Specifically, the law repeals two provisions of Social Security called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)
The new law impacts approximately two million beneficiaries who have their earned Social Security benefits reduced because of the WEP, and almost 800,000 individuals who have had spousal and widow’s Social Security.
SEE ALSO: Bill to Repeal Social Security’s WEP, GPO Signed Into Law
Which federal employees, retirees or spouses does the the Social Security Fairness Act affect?
Specifically this affects most federal employees in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The WEP can also affect CSRS Offset employees and retirees as well as some employees or retirees who transferred to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) after more than five years of creditable service under CSRS. Most other federal employees or retirees under FERS are not affected by the new law.
Many of those affected, however, have questions about how the law will impact their finances — and when. At the date of this writing, the Social Security Administration has only issued a statement that it is ” evaluating how to implement the Act. We will provide more information as soon as available.”
How much will the new law increase the amount of Social Security benefits?
Those affected can use this online tool to get an estimate of how much their Social Security benefits have been or would be reduced due to the WEP and GPO.
Social Security also has a WEP chart that shows how years of substantial earnings can change your reduction (download PDF here).
For those affected by GPO, Social Security’s fact sheet is here.
What should those affected by the Social Security Fairness Act do now?
Here’s what the Social Security Administration says:
For those who previously filed for Social Security benefits and they are partially or completely offset:
“At this time, you do not need to take any action except to verify that we have your current mailing address and direct deposit information if it has recently changed. Most people can do this online with their personal my Social Security account without calling or visiting Social Security. Visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount to sign in or create your account. We will provide ongoing updates regarding implementation on this page.”
For those who have NOT previously filed for Social Security benefits:
If you are receiving a public pension and are interested in filing for benefits, you may file online at ssa.gov/apply or schedule an appointment.
At this time, there is no other information available on the implementation of the new law. To get updates, go to the SSA website here.