WEP and GPO: how government pensions reduce Social Security benefits

Most people who worked in the private sector their entire careers don’t need to think about the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset. But for teachers, firefighters, police officers, some nurses, and a range of state and federal employees, these two rules have historically had an enormous impact — sometimes cutting Social Security benefits in half, sometimes eliminating spousal and survivor benefits entirely.

Understanding whether WEP or GPO applied to your situation, and whether the 2025 repeal changes anything for you, is one of the most important steps anyone with a government pension can take before claiming Social Security.

Who this affects

WEP and GPO applied to workers who:

• Worked in a job covered by Social Security (and earned credits there), and
• Also worked in a job NOT covered by Social Security — typically a state or local government job, some federal jobs under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), or certain non-profit or foreign employment situations

The key phrase is “not covered by Social Security.” Not all government jobs are exempt — many state and local employees DO pay Social Security taxes and are not affected. The distinction is whether your employer withheld Social Security taxes from your paycheck.

Common groups historically affected:

• Teachers in states without Social Security coverage (including California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and others)
• Police officers and firefighters in certain states
• Federal employees hired before 1984 under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
• Some employees of state universities, transit agencies, and water districts

If you’re unsure whether your government job was covered, look at your pay stub or ask your pension administrator — the presence or absence of a Social Security withholding line tells you directly.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

What it did

WEP reduced the Social Security benefit earned from private-sector or other covered employment for workers who also received a pension from a non-covered government job.

The reason for WEP’s existence was a quirk in how Social Security calculates benefits. The formula is designed to replace a higher percentage of income for lower earners (a redistributive feature). A teacher who worked 20 years in a non-covered job and 15 years in a covered private-sector job would appear — on paper — to have low lifetime Social Security earnings. Without WEP, they’d receive the enhanced low-earner replacement rate on their Social Security benefit even though they had substantial retirement income from their pension. WEP was designed to correct for that.

How it worked in practice

WEP reduced the first “bend point” in the Social Security benefit formula — the percentage applied to the lowest tier of average indexed monthly earnings — from 90% down to as low as 40%, depending on how many years of “substantial earnings” under Social Security the worker had.

The maximum WEP reduction was roughly $587/month (2024 figure). Workers with 30 or more years of substantial Social Security-covered earnings were completely exempt from WEP.

Example of historical WEP impact: A retired teacher with a $2,800/month state pension and a Social Security benefit of $900/month might have seen that $900 reduced to around $600/month under WEP — a $300/month reduction for life.

The 2025 repeal

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, eliminated WEP (and GPO) for benefits payable after December 2023. Workers who had their benefits reduced under WEP are entitled to the full benefit their earnings record supports, and many are owed retroactive payments for the period since December 2023.

If you were affected by WEP and haven’t yet contacted SSA, do so — back payments are not automatic and require SSA to recalculate your benefit.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO)

What it did

GPO affected spousal and survivor Social Security benefits — not the worker’s own earned benefit — for people receiving a pension from a non-covered government job.

Under GPO, the spousal or survivor benefit was reduced by two-thirds of the government pension amount. For many retirees with substantial government pensions, this reduction eliminated the Social Security spousal or survivor benefit entirely.

How it worked in practice

If a retired teacher received a $3,000/month state pension and was entitled to a $1,800/month Social Security survivor benefit from her late husband’s record, GPO would reduce that survivor benefit by two-thirds of her pension — $2,000. Since $2,000 exceeds $1,800, her survivor benefit would be reduced to $0.

This is why many surviving spouses of teachers and other government employees were shocked to discover they received nothing from Social Security after a spouse died — even when the deceased spouse had paid into Social Security for decades.

Example of historical GPO impact: A police officer’s widow, herself a teacher with a $2,400/month pension, expecting a $1,600/month survivor benefit from her husband’s Social Security record. GPO reduction: two-thirds of $2,400 = $1,600. Survivor benefit: $0.

The 2025 repeal

GPO was also eliminated by the Social Security Fairness Act, effective for benefits payable after December 2023. Surviving spouses and other dependents who had their benefits reduced to zero under GPO are now entitled to those benefits, and back pay is owed for the period since December 2023.

Contact SSA directly to have your benefit recalculated. The process is not automatic.

What to do if you were affected

If you’re currently receiving a reduced benefit due to WEP or GPO: Contact SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local Social Security office. Ask them to recalculate your benefit under the Social Security Fairness Act and determine whether you are owed retroactive payments. Bring documentation of your government pension amount.

If you haven’t claimed yet: Your benefit will now be calculated without the WEP or GPO reduction. Use SSA’s online tools at ssa.gov/myaccount to get an updated estimate — estimates generated before January 2025 may significantly understate what you’re entitled to.

If you’re helping a parent who worked in government: This is one of the more common scenarios where a parent believes they’re entitled to very little Social Security — or nothing — based on an old calculation. It’s worth having them contact SSA to get a current estimate under the new law.

States where Social Security coverage varies by employer

Coverage varies within states, not just between them. Whether a specific school district, municipality, or transit authority participates in Social Security depends on historical agreements at the employer level. The only definitive way to know is to check with the specific employer’s pension administrator or review pay stubs for Social Security withholding.

States with significant populations historically affected by non-coverage include California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, and Missouri — but affected workers exist in almost every state.

Related: How your Social Security benefit is calculated explains the underlying formula that WEP modified — useful context for understanding the size of the impact.