Social Security WEP/GPO Fairness Act - can I now claim survivor benefits and child-in-care benefits as a retired teacher?

Yes, the Fairness Act is a game-changer for folks in your situation! The WEP/GPO reform means you can now receive your survivor benefits without the previous reduction or elimination due to your teacher's pension. Since you're past your own FRA at 67, you should be eligible for 100% of your husband's benefit amount (what he would have received at his FRA). As for the child-in-care benefits, you should absolutely bring this up during your phone appointment. Those benefits are separate from your survivor benefits, and you'll likely need to specifically request them. The rules state that a surviving spouse caring for the deceased worker's child under age 16 can receive benefits regardless of their age. Your 13-year-old would qualify you for this, but unfortunately, you can only get retroactive benefits for up to 6 months, not all the way back to when your husband passed. Make sure you mention to the rep that your previous application was incorrectly processed as a "non-application" when you actually did apply. This might help with getting the full 6 months of backpay.

I went through something similar when my spouse died. The SSA people kept giving me WRONG information about my benefits!!! They told me I couldn't get anything because of my state pension, but that wasn't even true BEFORE the Fairness Act. There were exceptions they didn't tell me about. You definitely need to SPECIFICALLY ask about the child-in-care benefit and don't let them brush you off! They might try to tell you that you can't get both your survivor benefit AND the child-in-care benefit, but that's not true. The family maximum applies to the TOTAL paid to your family. And be prepared for them to be COMPLETELY CONFUSED about how to handle the Fairness Act changes. I've called three times and gotten three different answers about my own situation. It's INFURIATING!!!

I'm a retired state employee who was in a similar situation. Here's what you need to know: 1. The GPO reduction for survivor benefits is being phased out over 3 years, with the first reduction (1/3) happening in January 2025. You won't get the full benefit immediately - it's gradual. 2. For the child-in-care benefits, you need to specifically file for that using Form SSA-4-BK (Application for Child's Benefits). It's not automatic. 3. Since your prior application was incorrectly processed, bring any documentation showing you did attempt to apply before. If you don't have documentation, you can request your prior file through a Freedom of Information Act request. 4. The 6-month retroactive period is correct, but only applies from your application date, not from the Fairness Act passage. 5. The family maximum still applies to the total benefits payable to your family, so there may be some adjustments to the individual benefit amounts. Be very specific during your appointment. I recommend writing down all your questions beforehand so you don't forget anything important.

Have you tried calling the SSA directly? I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to them about my survivor benefits after my husband passed. Constantly busy signals or being on hold forever only to get disconnected! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU I was skeptical at first but it actually worked and saved me hours of frustration. The agent I spoke with was able to help me understand my WEP/GPO situation with my teacher's pension and my late husband's Social Security. Might be worth checking out before your phone appointment so you can get some preliminary information.

my mom had this same issue with her teacher pension. the ssa people always mess up with the wep/gpo stuff. make sure u ask specifically about the "child in care" benefit thats different from regular child benefits. and bring up that u did try to apply before! they might try to say the 6 months backpay starts from whenever u apply now but if u can prove u tried before maybe they'll go back further.

I just wanted to say I'm so glad the Fairness Act finally passed! My sister-in-law has been waiting for YEARS to get her fair share of benefits after paying into Social Security for 15 years before becoming a teacher. It's about time they fixed this unfair reduction! Good luck with your application - I hope you get everything you're entitled to!

One more important thing to mention: when you have your phone appointment, ask the representative to document EVERYTHING in your file. Get their name and direct extension if possible. If they seem unsure about anything related to the Fairness Act implementation or child-in-care benefits, politely ask to speak with a Technical Expert or a supervisor who might have more specialized knowledge. Also, the SSA's systems may not be fully updated yet to handle the Fairness Act changes automatically, so the rep might need to do some manual calculations or special processing. Don't be surprised if they tell you they need to research and call you back - that's actually better than them giving you incorrect information on the spot.

After reading through this thread again, I realized the advice about the 3-year phase-out is important to emphasize - DON'T let the SSA representative tell you that you don't qualify for ANYTHING yet because of the phase-in! You should still receive PARTIAL relief from the GPO immediately, with the reduction decreasing over the next 3 years. Also, INSIST on applying for both types of benefits during your call - your survivor benefits AND the child-in-care benefits. Some reps will only process one application unless you specifically ask for both. And GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING after your call - request that they send you a summary of what was discussed and what applications were submitted.

Based on your situation, here's a calculation example to help you understand what to expect (approximate numbers): Let's say your husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) would have been $2,500/month at his FRA. In 2025, the GPO offset will be reduced by 1/3, so instead of having your teacher pension fully offset your survivor benefits, only 2/3 of your pension would count against it. If your monthly teacher pension is $3,000, previously the GPO would have reduced your survivor benefit by $2,000 (2/3 of $3,000), leaving you with $500 in survivor benefits. With the first phase of reduction, the GPO offset would be approximately $1,333 (2/3 of the original offset), so you might receive around $1,167 in survivor benefits. For the child-in-care benefits, there's a separate calculation based on your husband's PIA and the family maximum, but these aren't subject to GPO. This is simplified, but hopefully helps you prepare for your appointment with realistic expectations.