NC TSERS Survivor Benefits and Social Security After the GPO Repeal

The GPO Is Gone

On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) was signed into law, repealing both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) retroactively for benefits payable from January 2024 onward.

The GPO used to reduce or eliminate Social Security spousal and survivor benefits for anyone who also received a government pension from employment not covered by Social Security. For decades, surviving spouses of TSERS members who held their own non-covered public pension from another state or federal system saw their Social Security survivor benefits slashed — sometimes to zero — under the GPO formula.

That formula no longer exists. The GPO is repealed. Permanently.

Why This Matters for TSERS Families

TSERS members themselves were rarely affected by the GPO or WEP, because TSERS positions are covered by Social Security — members pay the standard 6.2% FICA tax on their public earnings alongside their 6% TSERS pension contribution.

The repeal matters to TSERS families in two ways:

1. The surviving spouse had their own non-covered pension — for example, a spouse who worked for a federal agency or a state retirement system in another state where employees did not pay into Social Security. Under the old GPO, that non-covered pension would have reduced or eliminated any Social Security spousal or survivor benefit the spouse could claim based on the deceased TSERS member's record.

2. The TSERS member also had non-covered employment — less common, but some TSERS members also worked in federal or out-of-state public employment that did not pay Social Security taxes. The WEP could have reduced the member's own Social Security retirement benefit, but it did not reduce survivor benefits based on that worker's record.

Both offsets are now repealed.

What Survivors Should Do Now

If You Were Already Receiving a Reduced Benefit

The Social Security Administration automatically calculated and issued retroactive adjustments back to January 2024 for individuals whose benefits were previously reduced by GPO or WEP. SSA paid most of these adjustments in February and March 2025. If you have not received an adjustment and believe you were affected, contact SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 to verify your account.

If You Never Applied Because of the GPO

This is the group that needs to act. Surviving spouses who refrained from applying for Social Security survivor benefits because the GPO would have zeroed out the payment must file a new application with SSA. Social Security does not automatically enroll non-applicants — even though the law that disqualified them has been repealed.

Apply online at ssa.gov, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or at your local SSA field office. Bring documentation of the TSERS member's Social Security earnings record and your own pension documentation.

Option 4 (Social Security Leveling) Is Unrelated

A common source of confusion: TSERS offers an internal payment structure called Option 4 (Social Security Leveling) that adjusts the retiree's monthly pension based on age. Option 4 pays a higher TSERS pension before age 62 (or 65) and a lower pension afterward, so the combined TSERS plus Social Security income stays roughly constant.

Option 4 is a TSERS calculation formula. It has nothing to do with the GPO, the WEP, or the Social Security Fairness Act. The repeal of the GPO did not change how Option 4 works, and Option 4 does not create a monthly survivor pension — payments terminate at the retiree's death, just like the Maximum Allowance.

Do not confuse a legislative change to federal Social Security law with an internal actuarial option within the TSERS pension plan. They are completely separate systems.

Combining TSERS Survivor Benefits with Social Security

A surviving spouse who independently qualifies may receive both a TSERS survivor pension (under Options 2, 3, 6-2, or 6-3) and a Social Security survivor benefit. The repealed GPO and WEP no longer reduce Social Security benefits on the basis of a non-covered pension; ordinary Social Security eligibility rules still determine the amount.

The NC TSERS Survivor Benefits Guide covers the interaction between TSERS survivor benefits and Social Security in the context of the full claim workflow, including the timeline for coordinating applications with both RSD and SSA.

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