What changed in 2025
On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law, repealing two long-standing provisions: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Both had reduced — or in some cases eliminated — Social Security benefits for people who also receive a pension from government work where Social Security taxes were not withheld. The repeal applies to benefits payable for January 2024 and later, and the Social Security Administration began recalculating affected records and issuing higher monthly payments and retroactive back payments through 2025.
What WEP and GPO were
The Windfall Elimination Provision reduced the Social Security retirement or disability benefit of a worker who earned a pension from non-covered employment — a job where Social Security taxes were not withheld — and who had also worked enough in Social Security-covered jobs to qualify for a benefit. The Government Pension Offset reduced or eliminated Social Security spousal and survivor benefits for a person receiving a pension from non-covered government employment, cutting the spousal or survivor amount by two-thirds of that pension, often to zero. With both provisions repealed, neither reduction applies anymore.
Who this affects among FRS members
Most FRS-covered positions also withhold Social Security taxes, so many FRS members were never subject to WEP or GPO and see no change from the repeal. The provisions affected the smaller group of public employees whose government work did not withhold Social Security — for example, certain municipal police and firefighter positions and some other non-covered roles — who also earned Social Security through other covered work, a spouse, or a deceased spouse. If Social Security was withheld from every paycheck across your career, the repeal does not change your benefit. If part of your career was in non-covered employment, it may.
Spousal and survivor benefits
The Government Pension Offset specifically reduced Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. Before the repeal, someone who received a pension from non-covered government work — and who would otherwise qualify for a benefit on a spouse's or late spouse's record — could see that spousal or survivor benefit cut by two-thirds of their own pension, frequently down to nothing. With GPO repealed, a non-covered pension no longer offsets those spousal and survivor benefits.
How to verify your benefit
You can confirm your current estimated benefit by creating or signing in to a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount and viewing your estimated benefits. If you were previously affected by WEP or GPO, your estimate now reflects the unreduced amount. Because the Social Security Administration has been recalculating affected records on a rolling basis, your updated monthly amount and any retroactive back payment to January 2024 may appear at different times. The same account also shows your earnings record — which years had Social Security-covered earnings — which is useful when entering numbers into the Social Security estimator.
How Social Security fits with your FRS pension
For an FRS member who now receives a full Social Security benefit, it becomes a third source of retirement income alongside the FRS pension and any supplemental savings such as a 457(b), 403(b), or IRA. The Social Security estimator on this site projects a monthly benefit at different claiming ages — 62, full retirement age, and 70 — using the current SSA formula and the figures you enter, so you can see how it fits into your total projected income. The amount you receive depends on your earnings history and the age you claim, and Social Security benefits can be partially taxable at the federal level depending on your combined income. These figures are estimates for educational purposes; your actual benefit is determined by the Social Security Administration.