If you and your spouse (or late spouse) contributed to Social Security, please read this very carefully.  Even if you don’t care to sign a petition - please share this information with as many friends and family as possible. Start writing your elected officials and demand an explanation. Congress is hoping that we remain completely uninformed regarding this aspect of The Social Security “Fairness” Act. My husband of 22 years passed away in 2024. I was advised that I could not collect Social Security survivor benefits because I still work. I could apply again when I retire in a year or so. However, at that time, I could only collect the HIGHER of my Social Security benefit or his - but not both.  This is because of Social Security’s “Dual Entitlement Rule”. His ex-wife is a retired educator, contributed to a public retirement system (instead of Social Security) and receives her full monthly STRS benefit.  To my surprise, I learned earlier this year that she will begin collecting 100% of my late husband’s monthly Social Security benefit IN ADDITION to her FULL monthly public retirement system benefit starting in March 2025 courtesy of the Social Security “Fairness” Act. This Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025 and repealed the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which had been in place for 48 years. Its purpose was to create some semblance of fairness with respect to eligibility for survivor benefits between individuals who paid into public retirement systems and those of us who pay into Social Security. NOTE: Prior to the passing of this ACT, my husband's ex-wife and I would have been treated the same in terms of eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits. Neither of us would have been eligible to collect a survivor benefit. Why? Because our own monthly benefit (her public retirement or my Social Security) would have been higher than my husband’s monthly benefit.  So essentially, surviving spouses that paid into a public retirement system - also known as a FICA Replacement Plan (instead of Social Security) may now collect their full monthly benefit AND full monthly Social Security survivor benefits. Surviving spouses that paid into Social Security may still only collect the higher of their monthly benefit OR their spouse’s. My late husband’s ex-wife will now collect almost $24,000 per year in Social Security survivor benefits and as his wife/widow, I will collect $0.00. I have attached a link to an article written by a former Social Security administrator that further explains how unfair the Social Security "Fairness" Act truly is: https://www.dallasnews.com/timeless-in-texas/2025/04/06/anything-but-fair-the-gpo-repeal-backlash-has-begun/ The implementation of the Social Security "Fairness" Act creates a gross inequity in the distribution of survivor benefits, penalizing those of us who only participated in Social Security. 

This issue isn't just my own. This will likely affect you, your parents, siblings, other family members, friends and neighbors. Why are the rules for Social Security Survivor Benefits now different for individuals that contributed to a public retirement system than those of us that contributed to Social Security?

We must urge policymakers to amend Social Security payment guidelines so that all surviving spouses are treated equally, regardless of whether they contributed to a public retirement plan or Social Security.   The Social Security "Fairness" Act blatantly disregards all of us whose years of hard work and payment of thousands and thousands of dollars in Social Security taxes were meant to help provide us with a reasonable shot at a comfortable retirement.

Therefore, I call on our legislators and the community to advocate for and implement changes ensuring fairness and equity for all surviving spouses.