In 1983, Congress rewired Social Security to survive another generation. Among other shifts, that law set a slow-motion rise in the Full Retirement Age that would not fully hit until those born in 1960 reached their sixties. The last decade brought more change. Popular maneuvers like file-and-suspend and restricted applications faded into the history books, closing off loopholes that once boosted household benefits with clever timing.
In 2025, the system works differently than it did even five years ago, and two fresh developments tilt the playing field again: a brand-new age-65+ deduction created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the repeal of WEP/GPO under the Social Security Fairness Act. These do not rewrite the definition of “Full Retirement Age,” yet they absolutely reshape the arithmetic around when to claim, how to coordinate as a couple, and how to protect survivor income.
What follows is a clean, CPA-friendly walkthrough of what changed, why the 2020 playbook no longer fits, and how to reframe decisions for 2025 and beyond. Where helpful, we link to companion articles on our site for deeper dives.
2025's Game-Changing Legislation
Two new laws that reshape Social Security claiming strategy
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
- $12,000 for married couples both 65+
- Effective 2025-2028
- Phases out starting at $75K single / $150K joint
- Reduces AGI → impacts IRMAA calculations
Social Security Fairness Act
- Signed January 5, 2025
- Eliminates Windfall Elimination Provision
- Eliminates Government Pension Offset
- SSA adjusting payments + back-pay in 2025
1) A new age-65+ deduction that can change your net-of-tax picture
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a $6,000 per-person deduction for taxpayers age 65 or older, effective for tax years 2025 through 2028. For a married couple where both spouses are 65+, that is $12,000. The deduction phases out starting at $75,000 of modified AGI for singles and $150,000 for joint filers. It is available even if you do not itemize. Those design features matter because a deduction that applies to non-itemizers typically reduces adjusted gross income, which in turn feeds other tests like Medicare’s IRMAA. This is a practical lever, not a trivia fact.
Planning implication. In earlier years, many households judged Social Security timing mainly by break-even ages and longevity. In 2025, the new deduction can alter your marginal tax rate in the claiming window. If you intend to start Social Security soon after 65, the deduction can shift your net-of-tax benefits upward in those first years. If you delay and instead fill the income gap with withdrawals or Roth conversions, the deduction can soften the tax bite on those moves, or help you keep income below thresholds that trigger other surcharges. Treat this as one more dial you can turn in your 60s, rather than a small perk on the margins. (Inference based on IRS guidance that the deduction is available to non-itemizers, which is a hallmark of above-the-line treatment.) Internal Revenue Service
2) The Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO
On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act became law. It ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. Those rules used to reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for people who also received a pension from work that did not pay into Social Security, and they trimmed spouse and survivor checks as well. The repeal is now in effect, and the Social Security Administration began adjusting payments and sending make-up amounts in 2025. For some households, increases can be large. Social Security
If you or a spouse ever worked in a non-covered job, or if one of you has a public pension, your spousal or survivor calculations may be very different now than they were in 2020. A plan built around WEP/GPO reductions is out of date, and a fresh claiming analysis could uncover more lifetime income and better survivor protection than you expected.
The base rules still matter, and they frame every 2025 decision
Even with new legislation, the core mechanics of Social Security remain the foundation.
Full Retirement Age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. If you were mapping your choices using older age-66 assumptions, update the math. Earlier filing now carries a larger permanent reduction, and the span of delayed retirement credits runs from FRA to 70.
Survivor benefits follow distinct rules. A surviving spouse at their survivor’s FRA can receive up to 100 percent of the deceased spouse’s benefit. Reductions apply for earlier claiming, and there is a widow(er)’s limit that guarantees at least 82.5 percent of the deceased worker’s PIA in certain early-claim cases. This floor can partially mitigate a deceased spouse’s early filing, but it does not replace the value of a maximized benefit.
Old “loophole” tactics are closed. Restricted applications and file-and-suspend strategies are not available to today’s new claimants, which removes timing tricks that made many 2010s case studies look clever.
Add one more 2025 building block: Medicare prices and IRMAA thresholds. The standard Part B premium is $185 per month in 2025. IRMAA brackets start at $106,000 MAGI for singles and $212,000 for joint filers, with total monthly Part B premiums rising from $259 at the first tier to $628.90 at the top tier. These amounts are deducted from Social Security checks for most enrollees, which means they hit your net benefit directly.
Why the 2020 playbook does not fit 2025
A later FRA magnifies early-claim cuts and reframes delay math
With FRA firmly at 67, a claim at 62 now locks in roughly 30 percent less than your full benefit, while delaying from 67 to 70 raises the check by about 24 percent via delayed credits. The relative relationships have shifted compared with the age-66 case studies. If you have been relying on “62 versus 66 versus 70” breakeven charts from an older analysis, rebuild them for “62 versus 67 versus 70” and you will see the differences quickly. Pair that with the 2025 COLA of 2.5 percent, and remember that COLAs stack on your chosen base. A smaller base compounds into smaller dollar raises over time. That is a quiet cost of early filing that 2020 illustrations often understated.
The new age-65+ deduction changes net-of-tax results, and possibly IRMAA exposure
A deduction that applies whether or not you itemize can reduce adjusted gross income, which is the backbone of Medicare’s IRMAA calculation. If your household hovers near the first IRMAA threshold, the 65+ deduction can be a useful buffer in the years you turn benefits on or harvest capital gains or perform partial Roth conversions. Staying a few dollars below a threshold can avoid hundreds of dollars per month in premiums the next year. On the other hand, very high earners may phase out of the deduction entirely, which means an old plan that assumed “new deductions will help me dodge IRMAA” could miss the mark. The practical lesson is simple: rerun the plan with 2025 brackets and the actual phase-out math, rather than assuming a generic deduction will save the day.
WEP/GPO repeal resets spousal and survivor math for some households
If either spouse has a non-covered pension from past work, 2020 era planning often assumed a WEP-reduced worker benefit or a GPO-reduced spousal or survivor benefit. That assumption is obsolete. The repeal expands the number of households where a surviving spouse can keep the larger check without the old offsets, and it boosts the value of delaying the higher earner’s benefit to protect the survivor. This is especially relevant for dual-career couples where one person has spent time in teaching, public safety, certain federal roles, or foreign systems. Recalculate spousal and survivor projections first, then set claiming ages.
Medicare premiums tug on the plan more than most realize
Because Part B and Part D premiums, including IRMAA, are usually withheld from Social Security, your net monthly deposit can be hundreds of dollars lower than your gross benefit. If you stacked everything into your early seventies, for example, two large Social Security checks plus sizable RMDs, you can unintentionally push into higher IRMAA tiers. An older plan that ignored IRMAA or used 2020 thresholds will miss this reality. Consider staggered claims and coordinate with your drawdown plan, not just with longevity tables.
Don't Let Outdated Assumptions Derail Your Plan
These three misconceptions cost retirees thousands in lost benefits
"I can file early, then switch to spousal benefits later"
Deemed filing rules ended this strategy. File-and-suspend and restricted applications are history. When you claim, you're deemed to file for all benefits available to you—no switching later.
"Delaying only helps the survivor a little"
The surviving spouse can receive 100% of the deceased's benefit—including all delayed retirement credits. With GPO now repealed, this protection is even stronger for households with non-covered pensions.
"Medicare premiums are separate—I'll get my full Social Security check"
Part B premiums ($185/month base in 2025) plus IRMAA surcharges are withheld directly from your check. Cross an IRMAA threshold and your net benefit drops by hundreds per month.
How to re-optimize in 2025
Review your Social Security record, confirm birth years, and lock in your FRA at 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. Then pull current benefit estimates for each spouse at 62, 67, and 70. The idea is to ground every scenario in accurate numbers, not memories of an older projection.
Map the two new 2025 levers before choosing claiming ages.
Age-65+ deduction.
Estimate its effect for one to four tax years, and apply the phase-out if your modified AGI is near the thresholds. Test the sensitivity around IRMAA lines, especially the first tier. If your model shows you fluctuating around $212,000 joint MAGI in 2025, a $12,000 senior deduction for two spouses can be decisive, while a phase-out may erase the cushion.
WEP/GPO repeal.
If either spouse has a non-covered pension history, rebuild spousal and survivor scenarios without those offsets. In many cases, this increases the payoff to letting the higher earner delay to 70, since that larger check becomes the survivor base under today’s rules and is no longer clipped by GPO.
Coordinate with Medicare and taxes.
Set your draft claiming ages, then view the net deposit after Part B and any IRMAA. If a proposed strategy puts you a few dollars over a bracket, adjust the mix of withdrawals, conversions, or timing to stay under, when that is consistent with your goals. Do not forget the 2.5 percent COLA for 2025. COLA is not a reason to claim early, yet it strengthens the case for a larger starting benefit that compounds over time.
Rebuild “married filing jointly” with modern rules.
Old restricted-application stories are interesting history, not current options. Today, useful patterns often look like this: one spouse files around FRA to begin income and unlock any spousal eligibility, while the higher earner delays to 70. If survivor protection is the priority, that second piece is powerful. Validate the widow(er)’s limit in your projections, since it prevents the very lowest outcomes but does not replace the value of a maximized worker benefit.
Stress-test your broader retirement plan.
This is where CPA practice owners often find hidden value. Re-run cash flow under three paths, both soon at 65 to leverage the senior deduction, stagger at 67 and 70 with Roth conversions filling the early-sixties gap, and both at 70 for maximum guaranteed income. Fold in your practice exit timeline, any one-time capital gains, and the pattern of RMDs. Then target the path that gives you the best blend of after-tax income, lower Medicare drag, and survivor security across the decades ahead.
Bringing it Together for CPA Practice Owners
You do not need to become a Social Security technician to make a smart decision. You do need a 2025-aware framework that weighs four forces at once:
If you prefer a structured starting point, build three scenarios and compare lifetime after-tax income, year-by-year net deposits, and survivor outcomes:
65-Centric Start
Both or one spouse claim around 65 to benefit from the new deduction years, keeping IRMAA in view.
Staggered FRA Plus 70
Lower earner claims near 67, higher earner at 70, with Roth conversions or taxable drawdowns in the interim to shape future brackets and IRMAA exposure.
Maximize Guarantees
Both delay to 70, often best for households that value inflation-adjusted lifetime income and survivor strength, as long as the cash-flow bridge is planned.
Final thought
Laws and thresholds have shifted enough that a “good” 2020 strategy can be an expensive 2025 strategy. The age-65+ deduction gives you new room to maneuver. The repeal of WEP/GPO changes the income that a spouse or survivor can count on. FRA at 67, COLAs, and Medicare’s IRMAA brackets quietly move the floor under your plan. This is the year to rebuild your Social Security decision with current rules, current prices, and today’s options, then choose the path that delivers the right balance of lifetime income, tax efficiency, and simplicity for you. And remember, we’re here to guide you through the path best for your situation, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Appendix: Sources
- SSA, “If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.”
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/1960.html Social Security - IRS, “One, Big, Beautiful Bill provisions,” Deduction for Seniors (Sec. 70103), effective 2025–2028, $6,000 per eligible individual, phase-out thresholds, available to itemizers and non-itemizers.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-provisions Internal Revenue Service - CMS, “2025 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles,” Part B standard premium $185, IRMAA brackets starting at $106,000 single and $212,000 joint, with total premiums by tier.
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2025-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles CMS - SSA, “Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information,” 2.5 percent COLA for 2025.
https://www.ssa.gov/cola/ Social Security - SSA, “Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO update,” law signed Jan 5, 2025, implementation details and payment adjustments in 2025.
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html Social Security - SSA, “Survivors Benefits” publication, survivor claiming ages and rules.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10084.pdf Social Security - Congressional Research Service, “The Widow(er)’s Limit Provision,” the 82.5 percent of PIA floor for survivor benefits in certain cases.
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12091 Congress.gov - Kitces, “Congress Ends File-And-Suspend & Restricted Application,” background on closure of older tactics.
https://www.kitces.com/blog/congress-ends-file-and-suspend-restricted-application-and-other-voluntary-suspension-social-security-strategies/ Nerd’s Eye View | Kitces.com
Further reading on our site:
• How IRMAA Affects Your Retirement
https://cparetirementsolutions.com/how-irmaa-affects-your-retirement/
• Social Security Planning for Married Couples
https://cparetirementsolutions.com/social-security-planning-for-married-couples/
• Should You Delay Social Security Benefits?
https://cparetirementsolutions.com/should-you-delay-social-security-benefits/
• Understanding Spousal Survivor Benefits for CPAs
https://cparetirementsolutions.com/understanding-spousal-survivor-benefits-for-cpas/
