Update: I took everyone's advice and carefully reviewed my earnings record year by year. Everything looks correct - all my factory jobs are showing the right earnings with SS taxes paid. I'm still planning to call SSA about removing that warning message, but I feel much better knowing my actual work history is correctly recorded. Thanks for all the helpful information!

I'm dealing with something similar right now! I've been working in private sector IT for 15 years and suddenly saw the WEP/GPO warning appear in my account last week. Like you, I've never worked any government or non-covered jobs. It's reassuring to see from the other comments that this seems to be a widespread system glitch. I checked my earnings record and everything looks correct with all my SS contributions properly recorded. Still planning to call them when I can get through, but at least now I know I'm not alone in this situation. Thanks for posting about it!

Just wanted to add my experience - I'm a retired postal worker and got hit with the same scam email about 2 weeks ago. What really bothered me was how detailed it was - they knew I was affected by WEP and even mentioned my approximate benefit reduction amount. I called SSA directly (waited 3 hours but finally got through) and the agent confirmed it was a scam. She said they've had a huge uptick in these targeted phishing attempts against public service retirees in the last few months. The scammers are definitely doing their homework to make these emails look legitimate. The agent also told me that when ANY major legislation affecting WEP/GPO passes, SSA will send multiple official paper notices by mail before any changes take effect. They would never rely on email for something this significant. Stay vigilant everyone!

Wow, thank you everyone for the quick responses - I feel so much better knowing this was a scam! I was getting my hopes up that the Fairness Act had finally passed. I've already forwarded the email to oig.dsc@ssa.gov and changed my MySocialSecurity password as recommended. It's really disturbing how these scammers are specifically targeting us public service retirees who are already struggling with WEP/GPO reductions. They clearly know exactly what buttons to push to get our attention. I'm going to warn my former colleagues at the school district about this scam since they're probably being targeted too. Does anyone know if there are any legitimate updates we can sign up for to track the actual progress of the Social Security Fairness Act? I'd love to stay informed without falling for more scams like this.

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at SSA! The $150 was indeed a one-time adjustment related to my earnings record from 2023. Apparently when they processed my tax return information, they found I was eligible for a slightly higher benefit for part of the year. My husband didn't get one because his benefit amount wasn't affected by the earnings update. Mystery solved! And yes, my regular payment came through on schedule too. Thanks everyone for your help!

Thanks for sharing the update! This is really helpful information for others who might experience the same thing. I'm dealing with a similar situation with my elderly mother's benefits - she got an unexpected payment last month and we've been trying to figure out what it was for. Based on your experience, I'll suggest she check if it might be related to her 2023 tax information. It's reassuring to know these adjustments do happen and aren't necessarily errors. Glad you were able to get through to someone at SSA - that's half the battle these days!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation a few years ago. I was a CalPERS retiree with only 23 quarters of Social Security coverage, and like you, I initially got zero spousal benefits due to GPO. However, I'd strongly recommend following up on what @698cf40d106d and @e25bcdc944e7 mentioned about verifying if your CalPERS service is actually subject to GPO. This is crucial! If you worked in a position where Social Security taxes WERE deducted from your pay (which did happen for some California state positions, especially in later years), then GPO wouldn't apply to you at all. I spent months assuming I got nothing, only to discover later that a portion of my state service was actually covered by Social Security. It took some digging through old records, but I was eventually able to claim a reduced spousal benefit. Don't give up just yet - get a complete earnings statement from SSA and verify with CalPERS exactly which years (if any) had Social Security coverage. The rules are complex, but it's worth double-checking before you close the book on this!

@71c79734e414 You're absolutely right to pursue this further! California state employment had some complex Social Security coverage rules over the decades. Many CalPERS members are surprised to learn that certain positions or time periods were actually covered by Social Security. Here's what I'd recommend for your verification process: 1. Request a detailed Social Security Statement online at ssa.gov - this will show ALL earnings where SS taxes were paid, year by year 2. Contact CalPERS member services and ask specifically about Social Security coverage for your positions and employment dates 3. If you still have any old pay stubs from different years, check if OASDI (Social Security) taxes were deducted The key thing to remember is that if ANY portion of your government service was covered by Social Security, it changes the GPO calculation significantly. Even partial coverage could result in you receiving some spousal benefits rather than zero. Given that you worked 35 years (1985-2020), there's a real possibility that at least some of those years included Social Security coverage. California made various changes to state employee Social Security participation over that time period, so don't assume it was all non-covered employment. Keep us posted on what you find out - your situation could help other CalPERS retirees who might be in similar circumstances!

Thanks for sharing your experience and the update! It's really helpful to see how this process works in real-time. I'm in a similar situation - delayed my benefits for 5 months past FRA and started collecting in November 2024. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I should expect to see my DRC increase sometime between February and April. One question for those who've been through this - when you got your retroactive payments, did they show up as a separate deposit or was it just rolled into your regular monthly payment? I want to make sure I don't miss it when it comes through. Also, @aa0a55660898 definitely keep that agent's name handy like Connor suggested. Even if they seem helpful, it's good to have a reference point if you need to call back!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm new to this community and dealing with a similar DRC situation. I delayed my benefits for 7 months past FRA and started collecting in December 2024. After reading everyone's experiences, it sounds like I should expect to wait until somewhere between March and May to see my 4.67% increase. What really stands out to me is how much the processing timeline varies - some people get it in February, others wait until April. It's reassuring to know this is completely normal and that the retroactive payments will eventually come through. @aa0a55660898 thanks for sharing your experience and especially for the update after calling SSA! That gives me hope that I can get through to confirm my situation too. I think I'll try calling next week to verify they have my 7 months calculated correctly. One thing I'm wondering - has anyone noticed if there are certain days of the week or times that are better for getting through to SSA? I've heard horror stories about the hold times but maybe there are some tricks to avoid the worst of it.