Social Security Announces Expedited Retroactive Payments and Higher Monthly Benefits for Millions – Actions Support the Social Security Fairness Act
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: February 25, 2025
Today, the Social Security Administration announced it is immediately beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes.
The Social Security Fairness Act ends WEP and GPO.
“Social Security’s aggressive schedule to start issuing retroactive payments in February and increase monthly benefit payments beginning in April supports President Trump’s priority to implement the Social Security Fairness Act as quickly as possible,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.”
People who will benefit from the new law include some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states; federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and people whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system.
Many beneficiaries will be due a retroactive payment because the WEP and GPO offset no longer apply as of January 2024. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security.
Many of these people will also receive higher monthly benefits, which will first be reflected in the benefit payment they receive in April. Depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person’s pension, the change in payment amount will vary from person to person.
Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment. Most people will receive their retroactive payment two to three weeks before they receive their notice in the mail, because the President understands how important it is to pay people what they are due right away. Social Security is expediting payments using automation and will continue to handle many complex cases that must be done manually, on an individual case-by-case basis. Those complex cases will take additional time to update the beneficiary record and pay the correct benefits.
Social Security urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally into March. Since the new monthly payment amount will begin with the April payment, beneficiaries should wait until after receiving their April payment, before contacting Social Security with questions about their monthly benefit amount.
Visit the agency’s Social Security Fairness Act webpage to learn more and stay up to date on its progress. Visitors can subscribe to be alerted when the webpage is updated.
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William
Explain more about “foreign social security system.”
S.D.
Hi, William. Thanks for reading our blog and for your comment. Before the Social Security Fairness Act ended the Windfall Elimination Provision, WEP generally applied when someone received a pension based on work that was not covered under Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes. Non-covered work may include work done for a non-U.S. employer in a foreign country. For more information about foreign social security systems, visit Social Security Programs throughout the World. We’ve also provided links to Social Security webpages of other countries and international organizations. We hope this helps.
Ruby L.
I feel I was treated wrong I didn’t work for ten yr before I filed so I only got $480 to live on. I had to take off work to care for my invalid brother from an accident. I worked for years in retail clerks union in California. And was denied my x husbands ss also that I had 3 kids by. Darrell Ray Venable. I’m 80 yr old now and still living like a person that never paid into ss. My ss nu is ***-**-****. Ruby hill-Venable- Lake. I changed my name thru court from Venable to lake.
Tiffany h.
Does this apply to those who are receiving social security.? And what does it take to apply and get approved for disability.
M. P.
When I applied for my retirement with Social Security at 62, 10 years ago the person I talked to they told me I could only take my last five years of employment that is when I received only $560.00 a month. I had worked since I was eighteen years old, so why only the last five years? What about the other 44 years I worked? Have you ever tried to live these days on 560.00 a month?
Evelyn P.
I worked as a school bus driver for 22 years, but I didn’t pay into social security. I receive retirement benefits from the school, but no social security payment. Do I get a retroactive payment?
S.D.
Hi, Evelyn. Thanks for reading our blog and for your question. The Social Security Fairness Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). It’s possible you may be due retroactive payments if you previously applied for benefits as a spouse, divorced spouse, surviving spouse, or surviving divorced spouse. Those benefits could have been reduced, or even eliminated, by GPO because of the non-covered pension you receive from your work as a school bus driver. For more information on how you should proceed, read the answer to the question, What should people do now that the Social Security Fairness Act is law? on our Social Security Fairness Act webpage. We hope this helps.
Phyllis
What about the people who don’t make that much to begin with on Social Security and prices on everything has skyrocketed???? But no big increase to cover that! I need to work just to pay bills and in the 4 th quarter of life span, no quality since things cost so much! All the people who benefit from this new law already make a much larger social security benefit anyway! I hope MY President can come up with something for me!!! My health insurance didn’t get any better this year either!!!!
CINDY J.
What about widowers pay. I’ve only received 2 checks since November. Seems unfair and you can’t get through to the social security number.
Kevin A.
I trying find out if I’m eligible
Mary S.
What about people who went twice to the SSDI doctors, read the doctors reports, and both times saw fraudulent statements about the visits? Of course written corrections were made from myself, and a witness, on what actually happened with the visits. Documentation from MRI’s, etc., are all on file. It’s over18 months now, and my case is in Iowa, when I live on LI, NY. Bills are falling behind, not getting paid, so when does this process become faster, besides not having falsified information from SSDI doctors on the claims?
Nora H.
Does this have anything to do with spouses of deceased that retired from the military?