File Now To Claim Your Social Security Benefit - Don't Wait!

File now to claim your social security benefit - Don't wait, you could be owed thousands!

In this episode of Friends Talk Financial Planning, we are joined by Dennis Heywood, a Social Security expert with over 30 years of experience at the SSA. We discuss the major changes brought by the Social Security Fairness Act, passed in late 2024, which eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

These changes mean increased Social Security benefits for many retired public-sector employees—including teachers, police officers, and government workers—who previously had their benefits reduced. Some recipients are already receiving back pay dating to January 2024, in some cases totaling tens of thousands of dollars.

A critical point: many people never applied for benefits they were told they wouldn’t qualify for due to the old rules. Those individuals must now take action—by calling the SSA, insisting on filing an application, and making an appointment—to receive what they’re owed.

Dennis shares real-life stories, offers clarity on who qualifies, and explains the steps to protect your claim. If you or someone you know worked in the public sector and is affected by WEP or GPO, this episode is a must-watch!

Resources:

-Contact Information for Dennis Heywood, Social Security Solutions LLC: https://ss-help.com/ | (513) 235-8036

- Alliance of Comprehensive Planners: https://www.acplanners.org

- John's firm website: https://www.trinfin.com

-Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/friendstalkfinancialplanning

#ACPMemberWisdom #socialsecurity #financialplanning #socialsecurityfairnessact

TRANSCRIPT:

Bridget: Social Security benefits have actually increased for some people because of the Social Security Fairness Act that was passed late in 2024. Today you can learn all about it on Friends Talk Financial Planning. Hi, I'm Bridget Sullivan Mermel, and I've got a fee-only financial planner practice in Chicago, Illinois.

John: And I'm John Scherer. I've got a fee-only financial planning practice in Middleton, Wisconsin. And joining us today is our special guest, Denny Heywood, who does Social Security consulting for both Bridget's and my firm. And we're really interested and looking forward, Denny, to having you tell us more about the Social Security Fairness Act. Thanks so much for being here. Maybe you could start just by giving us a little background for our viewers on your experience.

Denny: Sure. John, thank you. Bridget, thank you. My experience is that I worked for Social Security for 30 years, and I retired, and I took my pension, which is part of that offset we're going to talk about today. I've been consulting with individuals and businesses, financial planners, estate planning attorneys, since about 2006 or 2007. My business is called Social Security Solutions, and my experience has been basically anything to do with Social Security, but I focus on retirement benefits, disability benefits, and survivor benefits.

John: Great. And I'll tell you, we'll make sure we get your link to your website and contact information in the show notes. Before we hit record, Bridget and I were just talking about how valuable your advice has been to our clients and us. We love having you as a resource. And with that, maybe we could just jump into that Social Security Fairness Act. What is it? It sounds good but tell us more.

Denny: Sure. Let's go back in history. In the early 80s, I think President Reagan was in office then, and he decided that Social Security needed to be less for people who worked in the government sectors—state, county, city, federal—because the benefits as they were computed back then, a lower benefit, which a lot of us got who work for the government, a lower benefit meaning Social Security benefit was computed in a different manner.

And actuarially you got more money than you should have in the long term than if you had worked full time in administration. Long story to short, we got offset. Anybody who was receiving or could receive Social Security and was entitled to a non-covered pension, like state, county, city, federal, their retirement benefit was affected by the law that came through called the Windfall Elimination Provision. So the Windfall affected individual zone retirement benefit.

The government pension offset is an offset on anybody who worked in the public sector, like I did, and was entitled to a spousal benefit or a widow benefit. So we've been offset. Roughly the maximum offset on a WEP, a Windfall Elimination Provision is about $500, $600 a month now. So your Social Security would be reduced by that much. And the government pension offset offsets individuals receiving any spousal or widower benefit by 2/3 of their government pension.

So if you were getting $3,000 a month, $2,000 of it would offset any spousal or widow benefit you got. In short, the Social Security Fairness Act eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision and eliminated the government pension offset effective January of 2024. So, the cash has been rolling out. I've got my back paid to January 24th. Many people have. If you filed for Social Security benefits on your own record, you were going to get something and that something has been increased because of the elimination of the Windfall Provision, that $500 or $600 a month, and you got paid back to January of ‘24.

Other people were subject to the Windfall and the government pension offset. Their own retirement benefit was reduced and what they could receive as a widow or widower was also reduced by 2/3 of their pension. That's been eliminated. These people will get a back paycheck to January ‘24, and a lot of us have gotten that check. Here's the crux of the problem.

The problem is there are a lot of people out there who never filed, who were told by Social Security that they couldn’t get any widow or spousal benefit or widower benefit because their pension, 2/3 of it, $2,000 on the $3,000 offsets any widow benefit. So they made a phone call back when they thought they could get it. They were told no, and they never filed. That's a problem. There's a lot of people out there.

John: Can I jump in? Thanks so much for describing this. To clarify that point, if my benefit is $3,000, 2/3 of it offset, and I'd qualify for widow, widower benefit. But if my widower benefit was only a thousand, it would wipe that out, so I wouldn't have applied 10 years ago sort of thing. Is that what you're saying?

Denny: Exactly.

John: But today I could get it, but I've got to do something in order to get there. Is that right?

Denny: Right. The gist of this problem is people need to call and make an appointment. That protects them for filing, period.

Bridget: Okay.

Denny: Go ahead, Bridget. I'm sorry.

Bridget: The people that really need to call the most are people who actually aren't getting a benefit.

Denny: Exactly.

Bridget: But they think maybe they could because their spouse died.

Denny: Right. They need to insist on filing. Don't take a verbal, “Oh, you're not entitled.” When you call Social Security, insist on filing an application, and that will protect them. I have a friend who worked in a school system. His wife gets Social Security. He never paid into Social Security. He got a high pension. Now he gets half of hers. He got paid back about $7,000.

Bridget: Oh, wow. Okay, so that's interesting.

Denny: You need to file an application. So anybody who thinks that they might be entitled to their spouses, if their wife or husband's still alive, or as a widow, widower, needs to file an application right now. Call and make an appointment. Period.

Bridget: And so let me just make sure that I'm getting this, too. So the people that are most important to take action are people who aren't getting a benefit but whose spouse passed away.

Denny: Their spouse may be alive, too.

Bridget: Okay, great.

Denny: Right.

Bridget: Okay.

Denny: Either they passed away or they're alive.

Bridget: But you've got to be involved in a state or local pension for this to matter to you.

Denny: Or federal.

Bridget: So state or local pension.

John: Or federal, too.

Denny: County, state, federal.

Bridget: Okay, great. But if I have a pension from Accenture, it doesn't apply to me, right?

John: It's only if it's only a government-based pension.

Denny: Right. Only a public pension.

Bridget: Okay. And if I'm in the system, they might reach out to me. But if I'm not in the system, I got to make sure I take action.

Denny: If you're in the system, you're going to get a back paycheck eventually. In March and April, they've been sending them out. Some are more are more complicated than others. Because if Windfall hit and a government pension offset hit, they have to pay you back is on both records. But call and make an appointment to file, period.

On the government pension offset side, anybody who's getting a WEP, who is affected by the WEP, their own retirement benefit, you're okay, you're going to get back paid. And if you were getting a spousal benefit or a widower benefit, you're going to be back paid. It's the people who never filed that could be eligible. And I'm talking about thousands of dollars.

John: Yeah, this is super helpful, Denny.

Bridget: Yeah. It seems like you can get both the back pay plus increased benefits going forward.

Denny: Exactly. I have a quick story. I had a widow who had filed an application when her husband died 15 years ago and was denied because her pension was too high. Guess what she got last month? $30,000 in back pay. Because you're really not denied, you're set on the system in offset. And she was totally offset when they passed this law. It generated a check to her at about $2000 a month for 12 months going back. She was on the rolls. So the people I'm worried about are not on the rolls at all. They never filed.

John: Yeah.

Bridget: It also seems like some people have been notified, so there's some heads up for people like. I've talked to people who have said, “Yeah, I got a letter, and so I know that it's in the works.” Two people that I talked to said that. So if you haven't heard anything, it's even more important. That's what I would say.

Denny: Right. Exactly. Some people are in the mix and haven't gotten their back pay yet. All right. They should be all right. You can call and check on it if you want to. Not all the back pays have been sent out yet. Some are more complicated than mine, but others who have never filed and are getting a little Social Security or none; they need to make an appointment and file an application, period.

John: And that's the other really key thing I heard you say, Denny. Make an appointment, go down and talk to somebody and insist on filing. It could be easy to say, “I called in and somebody told me I couldn't get this.” No, make an appointment. Insist on filing.

Denny: Insist on filing. Call the 800 number. 800-772-1213.

Bridget: Great. That seems like a great time to wrap up this episode. I'm Bridget Sullivan Mermel. I've got a fee-only financial planning practice in Chicago, Illinois.

John: And I'm John Scherer. I've got a fee-only financial planning practice in Middleton, Wisconsin. Both Bridget and I are members of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners. And so, we're both taking on clients. If you like what you hear on our show and want somebody in your area, you can check out acplanners.org.

And thanks so much to our special guest, Denny Heywood. From listening to this, obviously Denny is the man to go to when it comes to these things. If you have any questions, contact Denny at Social Security Solutions. Check the show notes. We'll make sure to have his contact information in there. Thanks so much, Denny, for your time today.

Denny: Thank you, John. Thank you, Bridget.

Bridget: And please subscribe.

At Sullivan Mermel, Inc., we are fee-only financial planners located in Chicago, Illinois serving clients in Chicago and throughout the nation. We meet both in-person in our Chicago office and virtually through video conferencing and secure file transfer.