Social Security Fairness Act confusion - Can ex-spouse with CSRS pension collect on my record?

The SSA representative was correct, unfortunately. The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 made changes to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), but didn't fully eliminate the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which is what affects your ex-husband's situation. The GPO still reduces spousal/survivor benefits by 2/3 of the government pension amount. If 2/3 of his CSRS pension exceeds half of your FRA benefit, then mathematically there would be nothing left to pay him. Example: If your FRA benefit is $2,000, his potential spousal benefit would be $1,000 (50%). If his CSRS pension is $1,800/month, then the GPO reduction would be $1,200 (2/3 of $1,800). Since $1,200 > $1,000, there would be no remaining spousal benefit payable.

I'm going through something similar with my husband!!! He also has CSRS and we thought the new law would help us but we're getting conflicting information every time we call. One rep told us he WOULD qualify for some of my SS and another said absolutely not. It's making me so anxious because we've been planning our retirement budget around this extra money. Has your ex tried going into the local office instead of calling? Maybe they know more??

The confusion here is understandable. The Social Security Fairness Act that passed has been modified significantly from earlier versions that would have eliminated both WEP and GPO entirely. The final version that was included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act focuses primarily on adjustments to the WEP formula rather than eliminating the GPO. For your ex-husband's specific situation: 1. The GPO reduction is still 2/3 of his government pension 2. This is subtracted from any potential spousal benefit (which is 50% of your FRA amount) 3. If the reduction exceeds the potential benefit, no payment is made With his CSRS pension at $3,900, the reduction would be approximately $2,600 (as you calculated). Since this exceeds the potential spousal benefit of $1,300, there's no remaining benefit payable. The original legislation to fully eliminate both provisions has been introduced multiple times but hasn't passed in its complete form.

my cousin works for ssa and he told me the fairness act only changes wep not gpo at all. the news got it all wrong when reporting. most people with government pensions still cant get spousal benefits if there pension is big enough.

I had nearly the EXACT same situation last month - ex-husband with CSRS pension trying to claim on my record after the Fairness Act. I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to SSA for a clear explanation because every news article made it sound like he should qualify for something now. After being disconnected five times and spending hours on hold, I finally tried Claimyr (claimyr.com) which connected me to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. The rep confirmed what others here are saying - GPO is still in effect, just slightly modified. The rep walked me through the exact calculation showing why my ex wouldn't receive anything based on my record due to his pension amount. You can see how their service works in this video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - saved me so much frustration after days of trying to get answers.

THE WHOLE FAIRNESS ACT IS A JOKE!!!!! They promoted it like it was going to fix everything for government workers but then watered it down to practically NOTHING!!! My husband worked 30 YEARS for the city and gets ZERO from my SS even though I paid in my WHOLE LIFE! How is that FAIR??? They should have just been honest and called it the "SLIGHTLY LESS UNFAIR ACT" instead!!!!!

To directly answer your question: Yes, the SSA rep gave your ex-husband correct information. To qualify for spousal benefits on your record with a CSRS pension, the potential spousal benefit (50% of your FRA amount) must be greater than the GPO reduction (2/3 of his CSRS pension). Potential strategies to consider: 1. If your ex-husband also has at least 40 credits from other work covered by Social Security, he should check on his own retirement benefit which would be subject to WEP (which was modified favorably by the Fairness Act) but not GPO. 2. If he's turning 62 in 2025 rather than already being 62, the phase-in of additional Fairness Act provisions might affect his calculation slightly. 3. If your FRA benefit increases substantially in the future (through continued work or delayed retirement), it might change the calculation.