Will government workers finally get full Social Security benefits under new WEP/GPO repeal law?

There's been lots of proposed legislation over the years to reform WEP/GPO, but nothing has officially passed yet at the federal level as of early 2025. The Social Security Fairness Act has been introduced again this year (been proposed since like 2001!), which would completely repeal both WEP and GPO. But it hasn't become law despite having bipartisan support. If your brother-in-law has split careers between private sector (paying into SS) and public sector (with pension not paying into SS), he'll still be affected by WEP currently. His SS retirement could be reduced by up to 50% of his government pension amount. You can actually see the estimated reduction on his SS statement. I used Claimyr last month to get through to SSA (claimyr.com) when I needed to discuss a similar situation for my wife. Their service connects you directly to a live agent instead of waiting on hold for hours. There's a great video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent was able to calculate exactly how much her WEP reduction would be - much more accurate than the online estimators.

its not passing. all these bills die in committee. they talk about it every election year and nothing happens. govt workers still get screwed. my wife lost 60% of her SS bcause of WEP even tho she paid in for 22 yrs before teaching!!

I think you're confusing a few different pieces of proposed legislation. There's the Social Security Fairness Act (complete repeal) and then there's the WEP/GPO reform act which would just modify the formula to be less punitive. From what I've read neither one has actually passed yet. But I HAVE heard from a friend who works at our state teacher retirement system that something might finally happen this year because they've been given some preliminary guidance about implementation. I'm not getting my hopes up though!!!

OMG I've been dealing with this EXACT SAME ISSUE and it's SO FRUSTRATING!!! My husband worked for 18 years in private sector and then got a job with the state government 9 years ago. We just found out his SS benefits will be cut by almost 40% because of his future pension!!! It's SO unfair - he PAID INTO the system!!! We were counting on that money for retirement. Does anyone know if the new law would be retroactive for people already retired or only for future retirees??? The SSA website is so confusing about this!!!

I spent 2+ hours researching this last week for my dad who's retiring from the city next year. The latest bill (S.1302) would create a NEW formula for WEP rather than completely eliminate it. People already affected by WEP would get a $150 monthly payment to offset some of the reduction. Future retirees would have benefits calculated based on their actual work history instead of the current arbitrary formula. The bill also has provisions to protect lower-income workers more than higher earners. From what I understand, your brother-in-law with 15 years paying into SS would see SOME improvement but not get completely full benefits. The calculation is complex because it's based on lifetime earnings patterns. You should tell him to request a benefit calculation from SSA specifically addressing the WEP situation. General SS benefit estimates don't automatically account for WEP reductions.

To answer your follow-up question - he needs to speak with someone directly. The online benefit calculators don't fully account for WEP/GPO. When he calls, he should specifically ask for a WEP-adjusted benefit estimate and mention that he has a mixed-earnings history with non-covered government employment. If he can't get through on the regular SSA line (which is common), that's where services like Claimyr that I mentioned can help get him connected to an agent who can run these specific calculations.

Just to add my personal experience - my mom retired from teaching after 24 years, but had worked retail for about 12 years before that. Her Social Security benefit was reduced from about $1100 to around $650 per month because of WEP. She was devastated because she'd been counting on having both income streams. The current system really punishes people who switch careers.

Something important that hasn't been mentioned yet: The WEP reduction has a maximum cap. For 2025, the maximum WEP reduction is $578 per month (up from $558 in 2024). Additionally, the reduction cannot be more than half of the pension from non-covered employment. Also, if your brother-in-law had years of "substantial earnings" under Social Security, the WEP reduction is gradually lessened. With 21+ years of substantial earnings, the reduction starts decreasing, and at 30+ years of substantial earnings, WEP doesn't apply at all. Regarding recent legislative proposals, some would phase out WEP entirely while others would replace it with a proportional formula that more fairly represents a person's actual earnings history. The most recent serious movement was in the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act, which would provide relief payments to current retirees affected by WEP and establish a new formula for future retirees.