Social Security Fairness Act and Disabled Adult Child Benefits

What the Social Security Fairness Act Changed

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), signed into law on January 5, 2025, completely repealed two provisions that had reduced Social Security benefits for millions of Americans:

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced Social Security retirement benefits for workers who also earned a pension from employment not covered by Social Security — such as Texas public school teachers in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS), municipal police officers, and firefighters.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced or eliminated Social Security spousal and survivor benefits for individuals receiving a non-covered government pension.

Both provisions are now eliminated retroactive to January 2024. SSA completed over 3.1 million retroactive adjustment payments by July 2025, covering benefits payable from January 2024 forward. Implementation is complete.

Why This Matters for Disabled Adult Children

The repeal has a direct — and often unexpected — impact on families of adults with disabilities. Here is the chain of effects:

A large number of Texas public employees did not pay into Social Security during their careers. Their Social Security benefits were artificially suppressed by WEP and GPO. When they retire, their Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the base number used to calculate all benefits on their record — was lower than it would have been without the offsets.

Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits are calculated as a percentage of the parent's PIA: 50% if the parent is alive and drawing retirement or disability, 75% if the parent is deceased. With WEP and GPO repealed, the parent's PIA is no longer artificially reduced. The resulting DAC benefit is larger — sometimes significantly larger.

A larger DAC benefit means more Title II unearned income counting against the adult child's SSI. The math is straightforward: DAC income minus the $20 general income exclusion is subtracted dollar-for-dollar from the SSI Federal Benefit Rate ($994 in 2026). If the DAC benefit exceeds approximately $1,014, SSI drops to $0.

When SSI terminates, Texas Medicaid — which is tied directly to SSI in this Section 1634 state — is flagged for termination.

The Medicaid Protection Step

This chain reaction is manageable, but only if you know it is coming and act quickly.

When SSA terminates the SSI payment due to DAC income exceeding the FBR, they transmit an electronic notification to Texas HHSC classifying the individual as an "ME-Disabled Adult Child." You will also receive a written termination notice.

Immediately file HHSC Form H1200 (Application for Assistance — Your Texas Benefits) with your local HHSC benefits office. Include the SSA Benefit Award Letter showing the DAC designation. HHSC is legally required under Section 1634(c) to disregard the DAC income for Medicaid purposes and maintain coverage under the Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities (MEPD) program.

Texas provides a mandatory two-month transitional gap of Medicaid coverage during the program transfer. File the H1200 as soon as possible and before that window closes.

Who Is Affected in Texas

Texas has an unusually large population of public employees in non-covered pension systems:

• Public school teachers and administrators enrolled in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) — TRS is the largest non-covered pension system in the state
• Municipal police officers and firefighters in cities that opted out of Social Security
• Some state and county employees in retirement systems that do not participate in FICA

If a parent in any of these categories has a disabled adult child receiving SSI, the SSFA repeal likely increases the parent's PIA and, upon retirement or death, triggers a larger DAC benefit — which in turn triggers the SSI-to-DAC transition and the Medicaid protection requirement.

Families where the parent has not yet retired should plan now. Contact SSA to get an estimate of the parent's unreduced PIA, calculate the projected DAC benefit (50% of PIA for retirement, 75% for survivor), and compare it to the SSI FBR. If the DAC benefit will exceed $1,014, prepare the H1200 and supporting documents in advance.

What If a Parent Never Applied Because of WEP/GPO

Some public employees never applied for Social Security benefits because WEP or GPO would have reduced the payment to nearly zero. With the repeal, those benefits are now available at their full, unreduced amount.

If a parent did not file for Social Security because the offset made it not worth it, they should file now. The retroactive adjustment covers January 2024 forward, so there may be back payments owed. And once the parent begins drawing benefits, their disabled adult child becomes eligible for a DAC claim.

This is not automatic. The parent must file for their own benefits, and then the adult child (or their representative) must file a DAC application with the local SSA field office. Bring proof of the parent-child relationship, the parent's benefit information, and medical documentation showing disability onset before age 22.

The Texas SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide includes a DAC transition calculator that models the income interaction between the parent's unreduced PIA, the resulting DAC benefit, the SSI offset, and the Section 1634(c) Medicaid protection timeline — so you can see exactly what happens before it happens.

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