Will SS Fairness Act reduce my benefits as CSRS Offset retiree getting both SS and federal pension?

The Social Security Fairness Act is actually designed to HELP people in your situation, not hurt you further. The legislation aims to repeal both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that currently reduce benefits for many government retirees. If passed, you would likely see an INCREASE in your Social Security benefits because the WEP reduction would no longer apply. For CSRS Offset retirees specifically, my understanding is that you would still receive your full OPM pension AND potentially higher Social Security benefits once the WEP is eliminated.

My neighbor is going through the exact same thing!!! He said his financial advisor told him that if that Fairness Act passes, his SS check would go up by almost $400/month. Something about how the WEP formula wouldn't apply anymore? But I think I read somewhere that CSRS Offset is different from regular CSRS... not sure if that matters?

I've been following this legislation closely because I'm also impacted by WEP. From what I understand, if the SS Fairness Act passes in its current form, it would completely eliminate the WEP reduction that's currently applied to your Social Security benefits. For someone already receiving benefits under CSRS Offset, the Act should be beneficial, not harmful. However, there's always the possibility of amendments or changes before final passage, and implementation could take time. Also, I believe any increases would only be applied going forward from the effective date - I haven't seen anything about retroactive adjustments for benefits already received.

OK listen up - this is actually my exact situation too. CSRS Offset is tricky because we already have that weird calculation where OPM reduces our pension when we start collecting SS. The Fairness Act would DEFINITELY help us because: 1. The WEP reduction to our SS benefits would go away - that's extra $$ 2. The CSRS Offset calculation stays the same - OPM would still reduce our pension by the same amount So overall, we'd come out ahead! My retirement counselor estimated I'd gain about $390/month if WEP goes away. But like others said, don't count on retroactive payments - that's almost never how these things work.

Has anyone actually read the bill? I think there's a 5-year phase in period for the WEP repeal. So you wouldn't get the full benefit right away, it would gradually increase over 5 years after it passes. At least that was in one version of the bill i saw.

To add some technical clarity: CSRS Offset is a hybrid between CSRS and Social Security. When you reach age 62 (or whenever you start receiving SS), your CSRS annuity is reduced by the amount of SS benefit attributable to your federal service under CSRS Offset. If the Social Security Fairness Act passes: 1. The WEP formula that currently reduces your SS benefit would be eliminated 2. Your SS benefit would be recalculated using the regular formula 3. Your CSRS Offset would still occur, but it would only offset the portion of SS attributed to your federal service The net result should be positive because you'd receive your full SS benefit calculated without the WEP reduction. The increase could be substantial depending on your specific earnings history.

@confused_neighbor The CSRS Offset and WEP are actually two separate mechanisms: - CSRS Offset: This is when OPM reduces your federal pension by the amount of Social Security you earned during federal service - WEP: This is when SSA reduces your Social Security benefit because you receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security They both reduce benefits, but they're administered by different agencies and calculated differently. The Fairness Act would eliminate WEP (the SS reduction) but wouldn't change the CSRS Offset calculation (the pension reduction).

I spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at Social Security to ask this exact question last month! Kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting forever. Total nightmare trying to get answers from them.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'm feeling much more optimistic about this legislation now. Sounds like I should expect a modest increase to my Social Security check if it passes, with no negative impact on my pension. I'll keep following the progress of the bill but won't count on the extra money until it actually becomes law.