How to apply for Social Security if WEP or GPO stopped you from filing

You retired from a teaching, police, fire or civil-service job with a pension, and years ago someone told you Social Security would pay you nothing, or next to nothing, because of that pension. So you never applied. A law signed in January 2025 repealed those rules, with benefit effects reaching back to January 2024, and the fix does not reach you until you file: SSA pays a benefit only once an application establishes that you are entitled to it.¹

What did the Social Security Fairness Act change?

The Act was signed on January 5, 2025. It ended the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), two rules that cut or wiped out Social Security for 2.8 million-plus retirees whose pensions came from jobs that did not pay into Social Security.¹ WEP cut a worker’s own retirement or disability benefit. GPO cut the spousal or survivor benefit a person could claim on a husband’s or wife’s record, often all the way to zero.

December 2023 was the last month either rule applied. Benefits payable for January 2024 and later are figured without them.¹

The groups SSA names are teachers, firefighters and police officers in many states, federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System, and people whose work was covered by a foreign social security system.¹ One caution: SSA puts the share of state and local government workers who did pay Social Security tax on that job at roughly 72 percent. WEP and GPO never applied to them, and this law changes nothing for them.¹ The test is not your job title. It is whether Social Security tax came out of that paycheck.

Who was paid automatically, and who was not?

The automatic adjustments started on February 25, 2025. SSA’s count as of July 7, 2025: 3.1 million-plus payments, $17 billion in all, with back pay reaching to January 2024 for people already on the rolls.¹ Benefits Insider reported on the rollout in August 2026: Social Security Fairness Act: Who still hasn’t been paid.

SSA’s instruction is direct: if you were not receiving benefits affected by WEP or GPO because you never applied, you need to contact SSA and file an application.¹ Two situations are common. A retired teacher whose spouse worked in the private sector never filed for a spousal or survivor benefit because GPO would have erased it. A firefighter with a short private-sector career never filed on his own record because WEP made the amount look trivial. Both need to apply now.

From Next Chapter TodayThe Social Security PlaybookWhen to claim, how to protect a spouse, and the 75 questions people actually ask. By Kwame Kuadey.About the book →

How far back will a new application pay?

The Fairness Act did not change the rules on retroactive applications. How far back a new application can pay depends on your age and the type of benefit. SSA’s Fairness Act page describes limits of six months for some retirement and survivor claims and 12 months for some disability claims; those are the most SSA describes, not an amount every applicant receives.¹ A new application filed this month cannot reach back to January 2024, and each month you wait is likely a month that will not be paid. Ask SSA what your own application allows.

How do I apply?

You have three routes.²

• Online at ssa.gov/apply for retirement benefits on your own record and for spousal (family) benefits. Survivor benefits are not filed online; the same page sets up a phone appointment instead.
• By phone at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Tell the agent you want an appointment to apply for benefits.
• In person at a local office, by appointment made through the same number.

SSA asks for the same information on every route: your Social Security number and birthplace; employers, dates and pay for any work in the last five years; your spouse’s or former spouse’s Social Security number and birth date; the dates and places of your marriages and divorces; and the routing and account numbers for direct deposit.² Do not mail documents unless SSA asks for them.²

What should I expect after I file?

SSA says it sends a letter approving the claim or asking for more information. It does not promise a timeline, so if you hear nothing, check the status online. If approved, your first payment arrives the month after the start month you chose.²

The amount varies widely. SSA says some people gain very little and others may be eligible for more than $1,000 a month, depending on the benefit type and the size of the pension.¹ All the ordinary rules still apply: a spousal benefit is at most half of your spouse’s full-retirement-age amount, and it is smaller if you start before your own full retirement age;³ a survivor benefit generally runs from 71.5 percent of your late spouse’s benefit at age 60 to 100 percent at your survivor full retirement age.⁴ If you qualify for more than one benefit, SSA pays the higher, not the sum.³ Our guide to survivor benefits covers those rules.

What to do

1. Answer one question first: did you ever hold a job where no Social Security tax came out of your pay? If no, this law does not affect you.
2. Pull your pension award letter and your marriage, divorce and, if relevant, death certificates so the dates are in front of you.
3. Apply at ssa.gov/apply (retirement or spousal) or call 1-800-772-1213 for a phone or office appointment (required for survivor claims).²
4. Ask the representative two questions: “What is the earliest start month my application allows?” and “Would an earlier start month reduce my benefit?”
5. Track the claim at ssa.gov/apply under “Check application or appeal status.”²