US Social Security While Living in Israel — and the 2025 Change That Restored Money to Olim

If you worked in both the US and Israel, and you're approaching retirement age ⁦(or already there)⁩ — US Social Security may owe you more than you thought, thanks to a significant 2025 legislative change. Here's the explanation, with the caution it deserves: it depends on your personal circumstances, and it's worth verifying with the SSA.

The background: what WEP even was

For decades a US rule called the Windfall Elimination Provision ⁦(WEP)⁩ was in force: anyone drawing a US Social Security benefit alongside a pension from work that didn't pay US Social Security taxes — an Israeli pension, say — saw their US benefit trimmed. For many olim who earned credits in the US and then worked years in Israel, that translated into a much lower benefit.

What changed in 2025

In January 2025 the Social Security Fairness Act was signed, repealing the WEP ⁦(along with a related rule called GPO, which affects survivor and spousal benefits)⁩. The upshot: people whose benefit was cut because of a "non-covered" pension — including an Israeli pension — are now entitled to the full benefit. The reported average increase is several hundred dollars a month, and in GPO cases even more.

And retroactive pay, too

The law applied retroactively to benefits from January 2024 onward. The SSA has already sent adjustment payments to millions of eligible people. Anyone whose benefit was previously cut may also be owed a one-time payment for the elapsed period, on top of the higher monthly benefit going forward.

A point that matters especially for Israel

There's no "totalization agreement" between the US and Israel ⁦(an agreement coordinating the two countries' Social Security systems)⁩. That's precisely why the WEP hit olim so hard — and why its repeal is so meaningful for someone living in Israel and drawing an Israeli pension. And yes, the SSA does pay benefits to eligible people residing in Israel.

What to check

• Whether your US benefit was previously cut because of an Israeli pension or non-covered work
• Whether you were updated automatically, or need to contact the SSA yourself
• Whether you're owed a retroactive payment, and how to confirm you actually received it

How we help

We're not pension advisors, and the SSA makes the final determinations — but we help you understand whether the change touches you, gather the documents, and navigate the bureaucracy with the US authorities in Hebrew. If you worked in both countries, a short check is worthwhile, because this is real money.