If you're on Social Security, you may have heard that 3.2 million Americans are due a benefit increase thanks to the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. This law removed a key provision that had restricted benefits for those who receive a pension from employers that don't pay into Social Security. It also eliminated a rule that restricted benefits to spouses of these workers.
The law was retroactive to January 2024, meaning many of the affected beneficiaries are entitled to back pay as well as a benefit increase. The Social Security Administration is still in the process of making the necessary adjustments. Most affected seniors won't experience any issues during the transition. However, a small group of affected beneficiaries could run into a frustrating issue that might leave them with less than they expected.
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The Social Security Fairness Act ended the Government Pension Offset (GPO)
The Social Security Fairness Act eliminated the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This rule restricted benefits available to spouses of workers who received a non-covered pension. This includes some, but not all, teachers, police officers, and firefighters.
The GPO reduced affected beneficiaries' spousal benefits by two-thirds of the monthly non-covered pension amount. In some cases, it was enough to completely wipe out the spousal benefit, meaning these seniors couldn't claim any Social Security. Now that the GPO is no more, these seniors could be entitled to benefits or to a substantial benefit increase compared to what they were receiving before.
Those who had been receiving some Social Security spousal benefits shouldn't run into any issues. The Social Security Administration (SSA) automated most payment updates in April and expects to have the roughly 800,000 yet-unprocessed adjustments completed by early November at the latest. But things are a little more complicated for those eligible for spousal benefits who weren't previously able to claim anything under the GPO.
Some spouses are limited to six months of retroactive pay
The Social Security Fairness Act says that if you claimed Social Security between January 2024 and when your benefit adjustment took effect, you should be entitled to a one-time retroactive payment. This could be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars for some seniors.
However, there is a small group of spouses who had previously contacted the SSA about applying for spousal benefits only to be told they would have their benefits reduced to zero under the GPO. These seniors claim that government employees advised them not to bother filling out a Social Security benefit application, so they didn't.
Now that the Social Security Fairness Act has passed, these spouses are trying to claim benefits and are being told they only qualify for a maximum of six months of retroactive benefits. This limitation has long been in place for new applicants who want to receive Social Security benefits for months when they were eligible but hadn't applied.
Some U.S. senators, including Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Coryn (R-TX), and John Fetterman (D-PA), have requested that the SSA change this policy for spouses who were previously discouraged from applying for benefits due to the GPO. They argue that these spouses should be entitled to collect spousal benefits as far back as January 2024, assuming they initially tried to apply for spousal benefits before this date.
So far, there hasn't been any official comment from the SSA on this matter. But if you tried to apply for spousal benefits in the past and were advised not to by an SSA employee, it's worth reaching out to the SSA to inquire about receiving more than six months of retroactive benefits. You can also try reaching out to your Congressional representatives to see if they can offer you any assistance. If possible, present any proof you have, such as when and where the SSA employee told you not to apply for benefits. This may help to strengthen your case.
