Every cloud has a silver lining, and although some retirees will see their payments frozen until they return “what they owe” to the Administration, other millions of beneficiaries (especially from the public sector) can recover money that the Social Security owes them (in back payments) to those public sector workers who, for years, saw unjust cuts imposed on them.
A reinterpretation of the Social Security Equity Act, signed in January 2025, removed two controversial rules: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), two regulations that reduced benefits for public employees and their spouses. Now that these have been removed, these beneficiaries are entitled to ask for the money that has been denied to them for decades. But it is being done retroactively and limitedly, and many may end up not recovering their money.
A law that promised to fix things
The rule came into effect in January 2025 with a clear promise: to eliminate two penalties that had been cutting benefits for thousands of public employees, the WEP and GPO, and to return the lost money. Teachers, police officers, firefighters, government workers… people who had contributed for the stipulated years but were receiving much less due to these rules.
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With the new law, these cuts disappear, and payments should be applied retroactively from January 2024. But there is a problem. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is only recognizing six months of retroactivity from the last contact the beneficiary had with the system. The result? Thousands of people are losing money again.
“These spouses, including widows and widowers, told us that when they contacted the Social Security Administration years ago to ask about spousal benefits, SSA employees informed them that their spousal benefits would be reduced to $0 due to the Government Pension Offset; therefore, it was not necessary to file for spousal benefits”, reported the senators.
What’s happening exactly?
A lot of people were misinformed at the time. Widows, spouses, and retirees who asked if they could apply for benefits and received a “no” in response. Now that the law has changed, the “yes” comes too late.
They are only being recognized for six months of back payments, even though they should be receiving up to $5,500 more. Yes, the average spousal benefit is around $931 per month, and if you haven’t received what you’re entitled to since January 2024, the difference is pretty large…
The Senate puts pressure
A group of Republican and Democratic senators, including John Fetterman, Susan Collins, and Bill Cassidy, has raised their voices. They’ve sent a letter to the interim SSA commissioner requesting an urgent review of this policy and clear guidance to apply full retroactivity in cases where there were informational errors.
And what does Social Security say?
For now, nothing official. The SSA is still applying the six months and has not responded publicly to the Senate’s letter. But discontent is growing, and more and more affected people are starting to demand action. Because this is not just a technicality. It’s real money. And for many, it’s the difference between living well or not.
What can you do if you’re affected?
If you believe you might be one of those negatively impacted by these years of economic mistreatment, the first thing is to look for any evidence of prior contact with the SSA. An email, a note, a report… anything that shows you asked before being told you had no rights.
Expert opinion
From the financial sector, voices like Kevin Thompson’s (CEO of 9i Capital Group) have made it clear that this is not an ideological issue. It’s about justice. “We always find ways to spend more money, but few solutions to pay what is already owed,” he said. And he is right. The system needs sustainability, yes, but not at the cost of those who have already funded it for decades.
The elimination of the GPO and WEP is a necessary victory. But if it’s not applied with retroactive justice, it becomes a broken promise. Because people aren’t satisfied with just being told that they now have rights: they want to recover what was denied to them for years.
Equity cannot be measured in arbitrary timelines. Nor can the dignity of retirees be confined to a simple letter with no response.
