Q&A: Not everyone benefits from the Social Security Fairness Act

Dear Liz: My husband passed away in January 2024. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 37 years. He drew off of my Social Security since he did not pay in. How will the change in the windfall elimination provision affect me?

Answer: It may not.

Social Security has promised to increase benefits and make retroactive payments to people affected by the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset. The retroactive payments reflect the increase in their payment amount dating back to January 2024, when the two provisions stopped applying. Social Security is mailing notices to people who will be affected, and most will see the benefit increases starting this month.

Technically, you weren’t affected by either provision, since they applied to people receiving pensions that didn’t pay into Social Security, not their spouses. Your husband’s Social Security spousal benefit likely was reduced because of the government pension offset.

Since your husband died the month that the two provisions stopped applying, the amount Social Security may owe him retroactively is likely small, if anything. If you don’t get a notice or see a payment, you can call Social Security to inquire, but the agency says most affected beneficiaries will get their adjustments automatically.

You can learn more about the Social Security Fairness Act here: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html.