Will my wife finally qualify for SS benefits since GPO/WEP was repealed? Married 40+ years with public pension

Yes, your wife should definitely qualify now! The repeal means the GPO (Government Pension Offset) no longer eliminates spousal benefits for public pensioners. Before, GPO would reduce spousal benefits by 2/3 of her pension amount, which in her case would have wiped out any potential benefit. With 42 years of marriage and your substantial SS benefit, she could potentially receive up to 50% of your FRA benefit amount. The SSA announcement on January 6th said they're still figuring out implementation, but I'd recommend your wife contact SSA directly to ensure they know she previously applied and was denied due to GPO. While technically they should have this on record, it never hurts to be proactive with these things.

I'm in a similar situation as your wife (retired teacher) and I called SSA yesterday about this. The agent told me they are still waiting for specific guidance on implementation, but confirmed that those of us who already applied don't need to reapply. They have our info in their system and will automatically recalculate our benefits. What I would recommend is making sure SSA has your current contact info - address, phone number, and direct deposit info. You can update all that on the MySocialSecurity portal. As far as timelines, the agent couldn't give me specifics but said it might take "several months" to process everyone affected by this change. I've been waiting 15 years for this repeal, so a few more months isn't too bad!

THIS IS A TOTAL GAME CHANGER FOR SO MANY OF US!! My husband was a firefighter for 27 years and I worked for our county school district. We've been SCREWED by GPO/WEP for years now. I paid into Social Security for 12 years before my public service but got NOTHING!!! Now we might finally get what we DESERVE! It's about TIME Congress did something right for once!!!

Wait, am I understanding this right? Does this mean I can get both my teacher's pension AND a social security benefit based on my husband's record now? I was always told I couldn't collect on his record because of my pension. Is this retroactive too?? I've been retired for 5 years and never even bothered applying for spousal benefits because everyone said it was pointless with GPO...

my sister-in-law tried calling SS yesterday and was on hold for 3+ hours before giving up. everyone is calling about this GPO/WEP thing at once i guess! maybe wait a few weeks?

I work for a financial advisor who specializes in federal/state retirees, and we've been fielding questions about this all week. Here's what you need to know: 1. If your wife previously applied for spousal benefits and was denied due to GPO, SSA should have this on record and will eventually recalculate her benefit automatically. No new application needed. 2. For benefit amounts - she would potentially receive up to 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), but this depends on when she claims relative to her own FRA (Full Retirement Age). If she's already past her FRA, she would get the full 50%. 3. Timeline - SSA hasn't provided any official timeline, but based on previous major policy changes, I'd estimate 3-6 months before payments begin, with the possibility of lump-sum retroactive payments to the January effective date. 4. This is a permanent legislative change, not an executive order or temporary policy, so these benefits are secure going forward. I recommend checking your MySocialSecurity account regularly for updates rather than calling repeatedly. SSA will be overwhelmed with inquiries for months.

Regarding your Medicare question - unfortunately, eligibility for premium-free Part A is based on having 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment (or being eligible for SS benefits based on your own work record). Receiving spousal benefits doesn't change her Medicare Part A premium status, so she would still need to pay for Part A. However, the additional income from spousal benefits could help offset those premium costs. And it's worth double-checking with SSA when they process her case, as sometimes rules around Medicare eligibility can be complex with edge cases I might not be aware of.

Just following up - I called SSA again today after seeing a press release on their website. The agent told me they're prioritizing cases where people were previously denied due to GPO/WEP. They're starting with the most recent denials and working backward. Since your wife applied in 2018, she should be in one of the earlier batches to be processed. The agent suggested checking the MySocialSecurity portal weekly as that's where status updates will appear first.

Does anyone know if this repeal affects divorced spouses too? I was married for 15 years to my ex before we divorced, and he gets Social Security. I'm a retired teacher with a state pension and was told I couldn't get anything from his record because of GPO. Does that change now too?

I dont trust the goverment to do this right!! They'll find some way to screw us over again... happened to my sister who was a teacher for 35 yrs and they kept denying her benefits!! Everyone should CALL and DEMAND what their owed now that this stupid gpo is gone. Dont let them forget about your case!!