In January 2025, President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These rules, in force since 1983 and 1977, reduced benefits to public workers with a history of private employment covered by Social Security.
The repeal benefits retirees who combined careers in the public and private sectors. According to the Social Security Administration, 3 million people will receive higher monthly retirement payments. The retroactive funds, corresponding to amounts not previously received, began to be distributed in April, with variable dates depending on the month of birth.
Who receives the Social Security increase due to the WEP and GPO change
The increases apply to retirees with government pensions and spousal or survivor benefits. Among those affected by the WEP are teachers, police officers and firefighters who accumulated credits in jobs not covered by Social Security. Now, these groups will access 100% of their calculated benefits.
Spouses and survivors impacted by the GPO will also see increases. Previously, their benefits were reduced if they received public pensions. The new law eliminates that adjustment, allowing full payments. The first adjusted deposits were reported in April, with amounts retroactive to January 2024.
Beneficiaries affected by the WEP will receive an average increase of $360 per month in their Social Security payments. For their part, some of those who were covered by the GPO will get between $700 and $1,190 additional each month. In addition, retroactive payments will be applied to cover amounts not paid from 2024, with amounts that will vary depending on each person’s retirement date and work history.
Future payments will include annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), ensuring updates for inflation. The Social Security Administration indicated that the calculation processes will be automated, without requiring additional procedures from retirees. Funds will be deposited directly into linked accounts.
Not everyone qualifies for retirement increases
Not all public employees will benefit. Only those who receive pensions from jobs excluded from Social Security qualify for the increases. According to federal data, 72% of state and local workers are in jobs covered by the system, so they were not affected by the WEP or the GPO.
The law does not modify benefits for federal employees, whose pensions are already integrated into Social Security. It also does not apply to retirees who only had public jobs. The reform seeks to correct historical disparities, but its impact is limited to a specific segment of the active population.
If you’re not among the lucky ones, you might still opt to get up to $5,108 in retirement payments. How to reach that amount? Well, there are some things you’ll have to comply with.
If you want to maximize your Social Security retirement benefit to the full $5,108 per month, the single most important step is simply to wait until age 70 to file. For those born in 1960 or later, delaying your claim beyond full retirement age (67) earns you an 8% credit for each year you wait, up to age 70, when the benefit caps out at $5,108.
But timing alone isn’t enough—you also need a long work history of high earnings. Social Security calculates your benefit based on your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) over your 35 highest-earning years.
To hit the maximum AIME, you must pay Social Security taxes on at least the yearly maximum taxable wage base (which in 2025 is $176,100) for 35 years. Otherwise, lower-earning years get filled in with zeros and drag down your average.