Government Pension? You Could Get More From Social Security

By Russell W. Hall, CFP®, CPWA®

For many years, we have helped our clients with government pension plan around two policies that reduced or completely eliminated their Social Security benefits.  The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) were meant to halt so-called “double dipping” where retirees or their spouses could receive both their pension and full Social Security benefits. 

However, these policies also wound up reducing Social Security for workers who had paid into Social Security over enough quarters to receive the benefits (usually in a previous job), but were then denied them.  It also could have affected their dependents, including surviving spouses who only received the pension because they inherited it and thus would see their own Social Security benefits cut.  Many of our teacher, public safety, firefighter, and government employee clients were affected by these provisions.

That all changed with the Social Security Fairness Act passed last week, which repeals both WEP and GPO.  That new law will affect current benefit payments as well as those for future retirees, and it is retroactive to the start of 2024 so anyone impacted will likely receive a lump sum payment for those past benefits.  While the government estimates that benefits will go up an average of $360 per month, we think several of our clients could see larger increases. 

At the moment, as long as you have already filed for Social Security there is no action that needs to be taken to receive the additional amount.  We anticipate that it will take the Social Security Administration some time to evaluate and implement the new law, so they are just asking that workers verify that their mailing address and direct deposit information is correct on www.ssa.gov.  You can also visit that site to find out about filing for benefits if you haven’t ever done so because you were receiving a pension.

If you have additional questions, please visit our website at www.eclecticassociates.com to schedule a complimentary phone call or meeting with one of our fee-only financial advisors.