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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Lon J.
Is this bebefit available to all who served in the Armed Forces too ?
S.S.
Hi, Lon. Thanks for reading our blog and for your questions. Earnings for active-duty military service or active-duty training have been covered under Social Security since 1957. Only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security – a “non-covered pension” – are affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). If you do not receive a non-covered pension, you will not receive a benefit increase due to the Social Security Fairness Act. For more information, read Military Service and Social Security. We hope this helps.
Ed F.
Thanks President Biden for signing this bill. No thanks to Trump and Musk for taking away billions from honest Americans.
Sarah J.
My exspouse passed a year ago. Will I get his retroactive pay, since he didn’t pay in Social Security on his job either?
Patricia J.
Those of you who have received a retroactive payment, are you a teacher, police officer, firefighter or government worker?
Brenda C.
My husband and I both retired under CSRS. I was not able to draw his Social Security. After I retired, I worked parttime and was able to get 40+quarters in so that I would qualify for some SS. He passed away, and i am receiving survivor’s benefit from his CSRS. Do I need to apply for both WEP and GPO?
S.S.
We’re sorry for your loss, Brenda. To check if your husband’s heirs may be due a repayment, fill out a Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of a Deceased Beneficiary (Form SSA-1724) (PDF), and send the completed form to your local Social Security office to review. For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions. Thanks for reading our blog.
Donna
Thank you President Biden! This wouldn’t have happened at all without your initiative to pass this new law. God bless you for doing this before you left.
John
Thank you President Trump! Biden was very bad president, he just took money from people.
s.Brownstone
This wasn’t done under trump! Biden did not take money from people but rest assured Trump fired thousands of people from hard working government jobs some of who were just starting in their careers. How does trump think these people are supposed to pay bills, put food on the table, care for their children with now NO income…..make it make sense. He’s horrible!
Ro
Thank you Biden! This bill was passed and SIGNED BY JOE BIDEN in December 2024. I know Frump and Musk tell you all anything and you believe it!
Carmen N.
I received a retroactive payment earlier this month so I went on my SS account this week and downloaded a SSA letter that explained my new benefits, great! but the letter said nothing about how the retroactive payment I received was calculated. Will I get one? I hope so
Thank you SSA employees who worked diligently to get these payments to us as quickly as possible.
S.Harris
How do you know if you qualify? Does everyone get a letter. What are the criteria if you know? The information on line is too much to injest. I’d just like to know exactly how it is determined. Thanks Carmen N.
C.B.
Hi, S. Harris. Thanks for reading our blog and for your question. Only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see benefit increases. Most state and local public employees – about 72% – work in Social Security-covered employment where they pay Social Security taxes. Therefore, their benefits have not been reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These individuals will not receive a benefit increase due to the new law. If you had a non-covered pension from work, you may receive back benefits and an increase on your own Social Security benefit. For more information, visit our Social Security Fairness Act webpage. We hope this helps.
Gary B.
Received a check that reference is “soc sec for ins” Do not understand what it is for. Can you help identify? The check is payable to spouse only. Do not want to deposit if a mistake is made. Regards
C.B.
Thank you for reading our blog, Gary. 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. For more information, visit our Social Security Fairness Act webpage. We hope this helps.
Olga S.
Thank you President Biden for signing the bill in November.
Thank President Trump for rushing the Our much needed payments so rapidly!
Cindy F.
I did not receive a letter from SS regarding my WEP retroactive pay – nor do I have a letter/message in my SS account. However, I had a SS one-time payment deposited in my checking account on 3/12/2025. How do I know if the retroactive amount is correct? My WEP is a complicated case, yet I have no idea if the one-time payment is correct since there is no breakdown for the one-time payment – I’m a numbers person and want to see how the amount was calculated. I don’t think it included my additional spouse benefit amount. Who and how soon can I contact the SS office regarding my concerns?
Teresa K.
Were federal taxes taken from my Social Security one time offset payment?
Cindy F.
Good question! I didn’t receive a letter, but received a one-time time payment yesterday – 3/12/2025.