The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that it could take over a year to fully implement the recently enacted legislation repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The delay is primarily due to the lack of additional funding from Congress to facilitate the process. The WEP reduced the Social Security benefits of retired federal workers and other public servants who spent part of their careers in the private sector, where Social Security was an element of retirement income.
The GPO affected the spousal and survivor benefits of families with retired government workers, often reducing or eliminating these benefits entirely. The Social Security Fairness Act, passed last year, repeals both provisions retroactively to January 2024. The WEP has impacted over 2 million retired public servants, while the GPO affects about 750,000 spouses and survivors, many of whom have seen their benefits completely nullified by the offset.
The SSA has warned that, given current funding levels, it could take at least a year to adjust benefits for all affected individuals.
ssa delays due to funding constraints
This includes processing lump-sum payments for what beneficiaries would have received in 2024 if the provisions hadn’t been in place.
Currently, the SSA is experiencing staffing shortages and is operating under a continuing resolution, which has already limited hiring. Recently, a hiring freeze implemented by the Trump administration further restricted staffing. “Processing these changes is very complex and SSA’s analysis shows that much of the work must be done manually, on a case-by-case basis,” the agency wrote.
While the agency is assisting some beneficiaries now, SSA officials caution that, under the current budget, it could take more than a year to adjust all benefits and issue retroactive payments. Beneficiaries should file for survivors’ benefits if they haven’t already and ensure their contact and direct deposit information with SSA is up-to-date. “Because the GPO could reduce or eliminate Social Security spouses’ or surviving spouses’ benefits, some non-covered pension recipients may have never applied for benefits,” SSA advised.
“[Filing] sooner might help you get a higher benefit amount.”
For those impacted by the WEP and GPO repeal, patience may be required as the SSA works through this significant administrative challenge without immediate additional funding.