Social Security Survivor Benefits After a Death Abroad: What Changed Under the Fairness Act

The Social Security Fairness Act Changed Everything

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), signed January 5, 2025, fully repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions had been reducing or eliminating Social Security benefits for millions of people who also received a pension from employment not covered by Social Security — state teachers, police officers, firefighters, federal employees under CSRS, and foreign government workers.

The GPO was particularly devastating for surviving spouses. Its two-thirds offset formula reduced Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the non-covered pension amount, and in roughly 70% of cases, it eliminated the benefit entirely. Many surviving spouses who were entitled to significant monthly payments never even bothered to apply, knowing the GPO would zero them out.

That's over. Both WEP and GPO are fully repealed for benefits payable from January 2024 onward.

Why This Matters When Someone Dies Abroad

When an American citizen dies in Israel — or in any country — the surviving spouse's Social Security situation falls into one of two distinct paths. The right path determines whether benefits start automatically or require immediate action.

Path A: The Deceased or Surviving Spouse Was Already Receiving Benefits

If either person was already receiving Social Security benefits that were being reduced by WEP or GPO before the repeal, the SSA has automatically recalculated the payments. The monthly amount should now reflect the full, unreduced rate.

What the surviving spouse or executor must verify:

1. Monthly benefit payments were adjusted upward to the full rate
2. A retroactive lump-sum payment was deposited covering the difference between the reduced and unreduced rate back to January 2024
3. Direct deposit and mailing address information are current in the my Social Security portal at ssa.gov/myaccount

If the deceased passed away before these adjustments were applied, the executor must file a claim with the SSA to recover the underpayment as an estate asset. For deaths in Israel, this is coordinated through the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) at the US Embassy in Jerusalem: FBU.Jerusalem@SSA.gov.

Path B: A Surviving Spouse Who Never Applied

This is the path with the most money at stake — and the most urgency.

Millions of surviving spouses never applied for Social Security spousal or survivor benefits because the old GPO would have reduced their payment to zero. Now that the offset is gone, these individuals are eligible for full, unreduced benefits. But the SSA does not automatically enroll them.

The surviving spouse must actively submit a new application. And there is a critical deadline: the Social Security Act limits retroactive payments to a maximum of six months prior to the filing date. Delaying the application can permanently forfeit eligible months that fall outside that six-month window.

Because survivor benefit applications cannot be filed online, the applicant must:

• Call the SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213
• Or coordinate with the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in Jerusalem for telephone or in-person enrollment

Reporting the Death to the SSA from Israel

The death must be reported to the Social Security Administration regardless of which benefit path applies. When the death occurs abroad, the standard notification channels are:

1. The Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in Jerusalem — they can initiate the death report and coordinate survivor benefit applications. Contact: FBU.Jerusalem@SSA.gov
2. SSA's national hotline — 1-800-772-1213
3. The e-CRODA (Consular Report of Death Abroad) — once issued by the Embassy, keep this official record of death available if SSA requests proof

Do not assume that the US Embassy automatically reports the death to the SSA. The CRODA is an administrative record of death, not an automatic notification to benefits agencies. The family must contact the SSA separately.

State Pension Offsets Are Still in Effect

The repeal of WEP and GPO applies only to the federal Social Security benefit. Individual state pension systems maintain their own internal benefit formulas and offset rules, which are completely unaffected by H.R. 82.

For example, if the surviving spouse receives a pension from CalSTRS (California), MainePERS (Maine), or FPPA (Colorado), the state-level pension amount remains unchanged. Some state plans have their own internal rules that adjust benefits when the retiree also receives federal Social Security — these are plan-level provisions, not the federal GPO, and they remain in force.

The executor should contact the specific state pension administrator to determine whether the restoration of federal Social Security survivor benefits triggers any internal adjustments to the state pension.

The Six-Month Clock

If you are a surviving spouse who never applied for Social Security benefits because of the old WEP/GPO offset, the single most important thing to do — even before completing probate, even before the estate is settled — is file your survivor benefit application. The retroactivity limit means months outside the six-month window before filing may be permanently unrecoverable.

The American Dies in Israel — Family Emergency Guide includes a Social Security worksheet that walks through both paths step by step, with the specific contact points, forms, and verification checks for each — designed so you can start the application process within the first week, while the rest of the estate administration runs in parallel.