Editor’s note: This video has been corrected to remove an inaccurate description of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and its effect on educators prior to its repeal in January 2025. The GPO reduces benefits for pension-eligible public-sector workers, including educators, who receive Social Security spousal or survivors’ benefits. Educators from the 15 affected states who are eligible for spousal or survivors’ benefits will now receive the full amount of those benefits.
President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on Jan. 5, prompting hundreds of thousands of educators across the country to wonder whether they’d benefit from the new policy.
Advocates for teachers and retirees have been pressing for years for the federal government to get rid of Social Security policy provisions that limit benefits for certain groups of public-sector workers, including many educators. Congress has granted their wish, including with a rare unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate.
Some educators might see hundreds of dollars more per month in retirement benefits than they would have before this law passed. Some could see a smaller bump. And some won’t be affected at all.
It’s not always easy to determine which group you fall into. Here’s our best attempt to sort out the policy’s implications.
