STRS Ohio Survivor Benefits and Social Security After the GPO Repeal

What Changed on January 5, 2025

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) repealed two provisions that had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for public pension recipients like Ohio teachers: the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The repeal is retroactive to benefits payable from January 2024.

Ohio public school educators covered by STRS Ohio do not pay Social Security taxes on their STRS-covered earnings. For decades, the GPO reduced Social Security spousal and survivor benefits by two-thirds of the person's government pension. In practice, this offset zeroed out Social Security survivor benefits for most STRS Ohio widows and widowers entirely.

That offset no longer exists. Surviving spouses of Ohio teachers can now claim full Social Security survivor benefits — if they take the right steps.

Two Action Paths for Survivors

Path A: You Were Already Receiving a Reduced Social Security Benefit

If you were already receiving Social Security spousal or survivor benefits that were reduced by the GPO, the Social Security Administration recalculated your benefit automatically in early 2025. You should have received a notice from SSA showing the new, unreduced amount, along with retroactive back pay covering the difference from January 2024 through the date of adjustment.

Check your bank statements or SSA online account at ssa.gov to confirm the retroactive deposit arrived. If it hasn't, or if the recalculated amount looks wrong, contact SSA at 800-772-1213 to request a review.

Path B: You Never Applied Because GPO Would Have Eliminated Your Benefit

This is the critical category. Many Ohio teacher widows and widowers never filed for Social Security survivor benefits because the GPO would have reduced the payment to zero. With the offset repealed, those benefits are now fully available — but SSA does not automatically enroll you.

You must file a new application directly with the Social Security Administration. This is not a reinstatement or an appeal — it's a fresh claim. File as soon as possible because retroactive payments for new applications are limited to six months prior to the filing date under federal law. Every month of delay is a month of benefits you cannot recover.

What the WEP Repeal Means for Dual-Income Households

The WEP reduced Social Security retirement benefits for people who earned a pension from work not covered by Social Security (like STRS Ohio teaching) and also qualified for Social Security through other employment. If the deceased teacher worked a second job that paid into Social Security — summer employment, private-sector work before teaching, or post-retirement work — their own Social Security retirement benefit was reduced by the WEP formula.

With WEP repealed, any surviving spouse who is receiving Social Security benefits based on the deceased teacher's record should see those benefits recalculated at the full, unreduced amount.

STRS Ohio Benefits Are Unaffected

The GPO and WEP repeal applies strictly to Social Security benefits administered by the SSA. It does not change anything about the STRS Ohio pension itself. Monthly survivor benefits, health care eligibility, service credit requirements, and Plan of Payment rules remain exactly the same.

What changes is the total household income picture. A surviving spouse who previously received only an STRS Ohio survivor pension of $1,800 per month with zero Social Security might now qualify for an additional $1,200 to $1,600 per month in Social Security survivor benefits. The combined income from both sources is what makes the repeal transformative for Ohio teacher families.

How to File

Contact SSA at 800-772-1213 to ask how to file the new claim. The application must be submitted directly to SSA.

Bring or have available:

• The deceased teacher's Social Security number
• Your own Social Security number
• Certified copy of the death certificate
• Your marriage certificate
• Proof of your STRS Ohio pension amount (your most recent benefit statement)

SSA no longer needs your pension amount to calculate an offset — but they may request it as part of their records update.

Don't Wait on Outdated Advice

Many websites, union publications, and financial advisor materials still describe the GPO as active law. It is not. Any source warning that "your government pension will reduce your Social Security survivor benefit by two-thirds" is working from pre-2025 information.

The STRS Ohio Survivor Benefits Guide covers the full coordination between STRS Ohio survivor payments and Social Security, including worksheets for calculating combined household income after the repeal.

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