Social Security spousal benefits after WEP/GPO changes - calculations don't make sense

The WEP/GPO rules are changing gradually, not all at once. The Social Security Fairness Act is being phased in through 2027, so your husband isn't getting the full spousal benefit yet. Also, the calculation isn't simply 50% of your benefit minus Medicare and taxes. It's more complex because of his own earned Social Security benefit and the pension offset calculations. The formula works like this: the maximum spousal benefit would be 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), BUT that gets reduced by the greater of either his own SS benefit or the remaining GPO reduction that still applies during this transition period.

Thank you for explaining! I wasn't aware the changes were being phased in gradually. Do you know where I can see a breakdown of how much the GPO reduction should be for each year until 2027? Our letter from SSA doesn't explain this at all.

the SAME EXACT THING happened to us!!!!! my husband was a firefighter for 28 years and we just applied for the spousal benefit thinking it would be 50% of mine minus his medicare. they gave us a number that's like 1/4 what we expected??? i called SSA three times and got disconnected TWICE and then some lady who had no idea what i was talking about. this is SO frustrating! feels like they're just making up numbers!!!!

It's so hard to get clear answers from them. My sister went through something similar with her husband who worked for the county. Have either of you tried making an in-person appointment at your local office? Sometimes that works better than phone calls.

I worked for SSA for 23 years before retiring, and I can explain what's happening. The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 doesn't completely eliminate WEP/GPO immediately. It's a phased approach:2024: 1/3 of the reduction is eliminated2025: 2/3 of the reduction is eliminated2026: Complete eliminationSo in 2025, your husband is still subject to about 1/3 of the original GPO reduction. Additionally, if he earned his own Social Security benefit (even a reduced one due to WEP), the spousal benefit calculation is: 50% of your PIA minus 100% of his own PIA (before any reductions). This is why the number is lower than expected.I'd recommend requesting a detailed benefit calculation from SSA to see exactly how they arrived at the figure.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I had no idea about the phased implementation. We'll definitely request that detailed calculation. One more question - when they do the calculation for the next phase in 2026, will that happen automatically or do we need to contact them again?

I went through this exact headache last month with my husband's benefits! After getting nowhere on the phone with SSA, I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to reach an actual agent without the endless wait. They got me connected to someone at SSA in about 20 minutes who was able to explain our specific calculation. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent explained that during this transition period, the benefits are calculated using a complex formula that factors in both the phase-in schedule of the Fairness Act and the standard offset for dual-entitlement. Once I got the detailed calculation breakdown, it actually made sense why the number was so much lower than what we expected.

thanks for the tip!! did the agent actually understand the new rules? the last person i talked to seemed completely confused about the fairness act changes

@puzzled_about_SS - The agent I spoke with definitely understood the changes. She explained that they had special training on the Fairness Act implementation. She mentioned you specifically need to ask for a

I've been on hold with SSA for over an hour trying to get information about my mom's widow benefits. Might try that service.

My dad ran into same problem. He taught for 37 yrs in TX. Mom worked retail. They messed up his spousal benefit twice already. Had to reapply 3 times total.

That's concerning! Did they eventually get it straightened out? Or are they still fighting with SSA about it?

Yeah they got it fixed but it took like 4 months and they had to go in person to the SS office twice. Bring all your docs when you go & ask specifically for a supervisor who knows about the fairness act phase in stuff.

Everyone seems to be missing something important here: the formula for spousal benefits has always been the greater of either (1) your own benefit OR (2) the difference between your own benefit and up to 50% of your spouse's benefit. It's not automatically 50% of your spouse's benefit. So if your husband already gets some SS on his own record, he only gets the difference between his benefit and half of yours, IF half of yours is higher. Then with the GPO phase-in reduction still partially applying in 2025, that number gets reduced further. The full picture is actually:Maximum spousal benefit = 50% of your PIAMinus: 100% of his own PIAMinus: Remaining GPO reduction (about 33.3% of original in 2025)Equals: Actual supplemental spousal benefitThis is why the number seems so off from expectations.

Thank you for breaking it down this way! I think this explains why our number is so much lower. Do you know if that remaining GPO reduction is based on the full pension amount or is there some formula for that too?

The remaining GPO reduction in 2025 should be calculated as 1/3 of what the full GPO reduction would have been under the old rules. Under the old rules, the reduction was 2/3 of his monthly pension amount. So in 2025, it would be 1/3 of that original 2/3 reduction (so effectively 2/9 of his pension amount). If his pension is $3,000/month, the old reduction would have been $2,000. In 2025, that remaining reduction would be about $667. But definitely request that detailed calculation from SSA to confirm.

My mom went through the same thing with my dads pension from the city. Turned out they were calculating using the wrong year of the phase in. Took 3 months to fix but they did give backpay.

Good news: when the next phase happens in 2026, SSA should automatically recalculate and increase the benefit. You don't need to reapply, but I would recommend checking your mySocialSecurity account or calling in January 2026 to verify the increase was processed correctly. Many people don't realize that these complex calculations often require manual review, so it never hurts to be proactive about checking.

This is great to know - I'll definitely make a note to check in January 2026. We've created online accounts but find them a bit confusing to navigate. I really appreciate all the expert explanations here!

has anyone actually gotten the FULL amount they expected once the law is fully phased in??? or are they gonna come up with some other excuse to pay us less than we deserve after paying in all these years????????

The law won't be fully phased in until 2026, so no one has received the full benefit yet. Even then, remember that the spousal benefit is still subject to the standard offset rules - it's not automatically 50% of your spouse's benefit if you have your own retirement benefit too. The WEP/GPO elimination just means your pension won't reduce your SS benefits anymore.