Millions of individuals who paid Social Security did not receive benefits. The Social Security Equality Act has changed that.
The Social Security Equity Act, signed into law on January 5th, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Settlement (GPO) regulations. The WEP and GPO have reduced or eliminated benefits for public sector employees who received pensions from employment that are not covered by the Social Security Agency (SSA).
Some firefighters, police officers and other civil servants
In March 2025, Mary woke up one morning and discovered over $31,000 in her checking account. At first she thought it was a mistake, but later it turns out she was due to the HR82 Social Security Fair Act of 2023.
Mary was a retired teacher and civil servant, and did not pay social security through her education work. Instead, her state had its own pension fund that she paid for. Mary received the pension.
However, Mary had previously worked other jobs and had paid Social Security for many years. She was also the widow whose husband paid for Social Security. However, she was not entitled to the benefit. That was changed by the Social Security Equality Act.
Mary and other teachers in her predicament were able to collect some of the things they previously paid to Social Security.
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This also affected the benefits of survivors and spouses that could not be collected in the past.
The money paid to them was retroactive to January 2024. So Mary fell a big wind. She is now also receiving monthly benefits.
Who is affected by the Social Security Equality Act?
Other individuals eligible for benefits under the Social Security Equity Act include firefighters, police officers, people under the civil service retirement system, and those covered by foreign social security systems.
The Social Security Equity Act did not affect all people who work in these professions.
72% of state and local civil servants who paid Social Security Taxes in lieu of pension funds are not affected by WEP and GPOs. As a result, they do not receive an increase in profits due to the new law.
What were the WEP and GPO?
The Windfall exclusion provision was originally passed to adjust Social Security benefits for people who receive pensions from jobs that are not covered by Social Security. These were mainly government jobs.
The reason was that these people should not receive a “wind drop” by collecting both full pensions and social security benefits. However, it was not possible to consider that many of these people paid Social Security through other jobs.
Government pension offsets affected the interests of widows, widows and spouses who received pensions. The GPO reduced the profits of survivors or spouses on two-thirds of government pensions.
For example, if you receive a $3,000 civil service pension per month, two-thirds of that ($2,000) will be deducted from your Social Security benefits. Depending on the amount of Social Security benefits, many left little or no benefits.
When were the benefits of the Social Security Equality Act available?
SSA began paying retroactive benefits in February 2025. If beneficiaries deserve retroactive benefits, the SSA was deposited into a bank account by the end of March 2025.
Retrospective profits covered an increase in recipient benefits amounts dating back to January 2024. This was a month when WEP and GPOs were no longer applied.
Because Social Security benefits are paid in a month late, most beneficiaries began receiving new monthly benefits amounts in April 2025 for the March 2025 benefits.
Are you eligible to receive the Social Security Equality Act benefits?
To know if you will receive benefits and if you have a state or federal pension, log in to your Social Security account and check your earnings history. If you don’t have an account, please visit MySocialSecurity to create one.
If you think you are eligible, contact the SSA to inquire about retroactive payments and the process of asserting them.
The Social Security Equality Act revives fairness
Millions of individuals who paid Social Security did not receive benefits. The interests of spouses, widows and widows were also denied. Some were rejected for benefits of both types.
The Social Security Equality Act has changed that.
If you think you qualify for these benefits, please contact SSA.
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