Fairness Act Implementation Continues
Since the repeal of the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) laws, more than 110,000 Massachusetts residents have benefited.
Retirees impacted by the WEP have witnessed their monthly Social Security check increase by an average of $400, depending on the specifics of their benefit. These retirees also received retroactive payments to January 1, 2024, which average $5,600.
While relief from the WEP and the retroactive benefit that has resulted from the passage of the Fairness Act is a welcome boost for public retirees living on fixed incomes, the truly life changing impact has been for those who were previously denied collecting all, if not most, of their spousal or survivor Social Security benefit due to the GPO.
For those who had been impacted by the GPO, the conservative estimate for the restored monthly spousal benefit is $1,000. And for surviving spouses, who are eligible to collect 100% of their deceased spouse’s benefit, the new benefit well exceeds $2,000 a month on average.
“To hear just how much the Fairness Act has changed the lives of our members has been humbling, to say the least. Despite a 41-year battle, Mass Retirees never gave up on the fight to end WEP/GPO – nor did our members. Hearing members’ personal stories truly reinforces just how important these issues are to so many retirees,” said Mass Retirees CEO Shawn Duhamel. “Social Security has done an excellent job implementing the law, getting money into retirees’ bank accounts a lot quicker than anyone would have thought. We’re very grateful to the SSA workforce.
“That said, we know that nearly 1 million retirees across the country are still waiting to be paid. The good news is that it is no longer a matter of “if” a retiree impacted by WEP/GPO will be paid, but simply “when”. We know that implementation is ongoing, with members routinely reporting that they have received payment.”
As of May 16, 86% or 2.4 million retirees had received their retroactive payment and have been made whole going forward. The remaining group of impacted retirees, totalling nearly 1 million people, have cases that were deemed “complicated” by SSA. While the specifics of each case is different, what they all have in common is the fact that both the retroactive payment and adjusted monthly benefit must be calculated by a human rather than the automated process used for 2/3rds of the cases that had been resolved by early April.
If you are now receiving a Social Security benefit that was reduced by the WEP or GPO laws but have not yet received your retroactive payment and new monthly benefit, Mass Retirees suggests that you contact Social Security by calling your local field office and inquire about your status. Once it has been confirmed that you are in fact on the list of pending claims, there is not much more you can do beyond waiting to be paid.
Social Security has publicly stated that all pending cases should be resolved by November.
For those retirees who were denied a spousal or survivor Social Security benefit due to the GPO, you may need to contact Social Security to initiate payment of your benefit. Spouses are eligible for up to ½ of their living spouse’s Social Security benefit. Surviving spouses are eligible for 100% of their deceased spouse’s benefit.
To be clear, if the retiree qualifies for their own Social Security benefit, based on their own personal work history, then they will only qualify for spousal/survivor Social Security benefits if those benefits are greater than their own.
“For spousal or survivor benefits, you essentially qualify for the greater of the two. Divorced spouses may still qualify for benefits, if they were married for at least 10 years,” explains Mass Retirees General Counsel Bill Rehrey. “In terms of the retroactive application of spousal/ survivor benefits, if there is a record of the denial taking place due to the GPO, Social Security will pay the retroactive benefit to 1/1/2024. However, if there is no formal record of the denial taking place the retroactive benefit is generally paid just six months retroactively.
“We have heard from quite a few members who had applied for spousal/ survivor benefits prior to 2025 and were verbally denied by SSA due to the WEP. Unless there is a written record or documentation, there is no way to legally prove that the benefit was denied. We believe this to be an unfair and incorrect interpretation of the Fairness Act and have urged SSA to revise their position.”
Several members of Congress, including all members of the Massachusetts delegation and US Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) have also called on SSA to reverse its interpretation and pay all pre-2024 claims retroactively to 1/1/2024. However, to date, SSA has maintained its narrow interpretation.
Mass Retirees will continue to advocate for the fair and prompt application of the Fairness Act for all impacted retirees. We will keep members informed of all new developments.