Check your mailbox for your 2024 1099-R
On December 21, 2024, the U.S. Senate voted to approve H.R. 82 (the Social Security Fairness Act) without amendment to repeal WEP and GPO. These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for public sector workers who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes.
The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, but it applies retroactively to all monthly insurance payments made after December 2023. Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment.
Per yesterday's announcement, most impacted beneficiaries will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security.
Public and private sector defined benefit pension fund payments added $224.3 billion in tax revenue to the U.S. economy in 2022, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security. Research Quantifies the Broad Economic Impact of Pension Payments | PLANSPONSOR
President Joe Biden has signed the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, ensuring retired law enforcement officers receive their full earned Social Security benefits.
The Social Security Fairness Act, aiming to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, awaits President Biden's signature after passing both the House and Senate.