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Congress repealed the WEP/GPO — retired Michigan teachers and public employees may be owed retroactive Social Security payments

Updated 2026-06-24  ·  0 primary sources linked  ·  All sides presented

Congress repealed the WEP/GPO — retired Michigan teachers and public employees may be owed retroactive Social Security payments

The Social Security Fairness Act (January 2025) repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which had reduced Social Security benefits for retirees who also received government pensions. Approximately 3.2M retirees nationally are affected. Michigan teachers enrolled in MPSERS who also have Social Security credits from prior private-sector work are among the primary beneficiaries. SSA is processing retroactive payments back to January 2024. Average benefit increase: $550–$800/month. Check ssa.gov.

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Congress repealed the WEP/GPO — retired Michigan teachers and public employees may be owed retroactive Social Security payments


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What Happened

Congress passed and President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025, repealing two provisions that had reduced Social Security benefits for millions of public-sector retirees for decades.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) had reduced Social Security for workers who also received a pension from a job not covered by Social Security (like many state and local government jobs). The Government Pension Offset (GPO) had reduced or eliminated spousal and survivor Social Security benefits for the same group.

Affected workers include teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees who participated in a pension system instead of Social Security during their careers.

Source: Social Security Administration — Social Security Fairness Act

Who Gets More Money
  • Retired Michigan teachers: Michigan teachers hired before July 2010 did not pay into Social Security and were subject to WEP/GPO. If you also worked in Social Security-covered jobs and were having your benefit reduced, you may now receive the full amount.
  • Spouses and survivors: If your spouse was a public employee and your own Social Security spousal or survivor benefit was reduced by GPO, that reduction is gone.
  • Retroactive payments: SSA is paying retroactive benefits going back to January 2024. Some recipients have already received lump-sum retroactive checks; others are still being processed.
  • Average increase: SSA estimates affected retirees will receive an average of $360/month more.
What to Do
  • If you're already receiving reduced benefits: SSA is automatically recalculating and sending updated benefit amounts. Check your My Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount.
  • If you never applied because WEP/GPO made it not worth it: You may now be eligible to collect — apply at ssa.gov/apply. Benefits are not retroactive beyond January 2024 for new applicants.
  • Michigan teachers: Contact the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System (MPSERS) and SSA together — your pension amount affects your Social Security calculation.
  • SSA processing backlog: Retroactive payments are still being issued as of mid-2026. If you haven't received yours, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213.