Will Social Security Fairness Act let me collect 100% of late husband's benefits despite GPO pension?

Thank you so much for breaking this down! So if I'm understanding correctly, if I apply now in 2024, they would reduce my husband's survivor benefit by 40% of my pension instead of the old 2/3 rule? And then in 2025 it would only be reduced by 20% of my pension amount? My pension is about $3,200/month and my husband's SS would be around $2,800/month at my full retirement age. Do you know how I calculate exactly what I'd get?

I feel your frustration about getting through to SSA! After trying for weeks to get answers about my WEP/GPO situation, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and when they reach an agent, they connect you. Saved me hours of hold time and frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed the phase-out schedule for GPO that the previous commenter mentioned. Really helped clear things up for my situation!

This is INCREDIBLY helpful! Thank you for the specific calculations - that makes it so much clearer. I've been trying to figure this out for weeks. One more question if you don't mind - does the fact that I worked some years under Social Security before becoming a teacher affect any of this? I think I'd have about 25 quarters of coverage under my own record.

I agree its about time they fixed this! But I think your being a little harsh. The SSA employees are just doing there job with the tools they have. The law just passed so of course there still figuring things out.

I do have a my Social Security account, but you're right - it doesn't seem to reflect these changes yet. The estimates there still show my benefits with the full WEP/GPO reductions. I'll try to get specific calculations from SSA directly. Thanks for pointing out that my own benefit might still be smaller - I hadn't considered that given my limited work history under Social Security.

No, GPO affects both spousal and survivor benefits. Your neighbor might be in a different situation: 1. She might work for an employer that participates in BOTH pension and Social Security systems (GPO only affects government pensions where SS taxes weren't paid) 2. She might have enough quarters under Social Security from other jobs to avoid GPO 3. She might be affected by GPO but her husband's benefit was high enough that she still gets some money after the offset 4. Or her pension might be from a private employer, which is never affected by GPO (only government pensions where SS taxes weren't paid are affected) GPO definitely impacts widow(er)s with government pensions where Social Security taxes weren't paid.

Happy to explain the difference: **GPO (Government Pension Offset)** affects SPOUSAL and SURVIVOR benefits when you have a government pension from work not covered by Social Security. It reduced those benefits by 2/3 of your pension amount (now being phased out with the Fairness Act). **WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision)** affects your OWN Social Security benefits when you have a pension from work not covered by Social Security. It reduces your own SS benefit through a modified benefit formula (also being phased out with the Fairness Act). Simply put: - GPO affects benefits you'd get from someone else's record (spouse/deceased spouse) - WEP affects benefits you'd get from your own record Both are being phased out under the new law over the same 3-year period.

From what I understand, if you're already receiving reduced benefits due to WEP/GPO, SSA should recalculate and adjust your payments automatically. But if you were completely offset by GPO before (getting $0 in benefits), you would need to apply since you weren't in the system receiving payments. In the OP's case, since she wasn't receiving any benefits due to the full offset, she would need to submit an application for survivor benefits. That said, with a change this big affecting millions of beneficiaries, there could be delays in implementation. I'd recommend applying or contacting SSA regardless to ensure you're in their system for the adjustments.

Your cousin is correct that January 1, 2026 is when the GPO is fully eliminated (100% gone). But the phase-out begins earlier: - January 1, 2024: GPO reduction decreases from 2/3 of pension to 40% of pension (so you get more now) - January 1, 2025: GPO reduction decreases to 20% of pension (you get even more) - January 1, 2026: GPO completely eliminated (you get full benefits) So the original poster can definitely get some benefits now, just not 100% of her husband's benefit until 2026.