THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2025 63 AFSA NEWS Federal Benefits Increase for Some FS Retirees On Jan. 5, 2025, President Biden signed AFSA-supported legislation repealing two laws that had reduced the Social Security benefits of participants in the pre-1984 government employee retirement systems who had previous or subsequent private sector employment that allowed them to qualify for Social Security benefits. For the Foreign Service, the changes apply to some participants in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System (FSRDS) covering Foreign Service members hired before 1984. They do not apply to participants in the post-1983 Foreign Service Pension System (FSPS) since their Social Security benefits were never subject to these reductions. The two repealed provisions are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduced Social Security benefits for some retirees, and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduced some Social Security spousal or survivor benefits. The new law repeals those reductions retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024. Thus, the Social Security Administration will reimburse benefit reductions taken in 2024 and will stop taking similar reductions in future Social Security benefit payments. AFSA supported the repeal legislation by joining with the 30 other organizations in the Federal-Postal Coalition to send a series of letters to Congress in 2024 urging action. n NEWS BRIEF
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