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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Jane E.
Letter saying my benefits would be changed effect 1/2024 but no amount of retro check , still haven’t received retro check
Anna m.
Interview and documents all submitted to Torrance Ca ss offices on February 5 for survivor benefits . Previously not eligible due to WEP.
NO letter no benefits so far??
Please help me.
Evelyn
Can you imagine working and earning income and then it is snatched from you due to a political agenda? I worked hard for my social security and my public retirement. While working for the government, my social security allotment did not grow, growth stopped. So the tax payments stopped. One can not say I did not pay taxes on my social security. And I also never received my retro that was advertised to come by the end of MARCH
547-62-7986
I have not received either increase or retro check
Louetta w.
Do I get an increase?I did not get a letter
Neal A.
I have not received anything yet under the new Fairness Act.
Jim R.
April 5th. Still no letter, no retroactive lump sum, nothing!
james b.
why is people never paid any tax at all alow do this, this money should be given to levle out what people getting per mouth i get 1300 and i got 1300 says wont change these people inter jobs undersanding that they get no socal securty, how ever them people work , gets 1300.00 states when u die takes all u have called estsate recovery now what gets me is when there law sute on this and socal securty wins big some base on 10k people they do not give them people part that money medcade dosent even see it and takes full amout, my mom becuase her house was paid off she was put on medcade with out a quistion no proof of income nothing and statement she have over 30k in bank why, ????? simple her age and they know they could take it all so i force take her off it ,
this nothing short then fraud, and it key fackor why i will be force off it, why is not medcare fix to have same laws as ssdi , i not even alow sell on ebay as any income for personal things must be reported, even if i sell one or 4 items not only irs will tell socal securty of sale, now if i not makeing money every day list 20 items i should not be force to expalne it its my stuff and tax and tax was paid on it , that this will not help them like me and only helps goverment workers is bs, they getting a retirement = to what they getting paid , i agest this for so many reason no one wants help them that works just keep us poor , and seams that trump has same agend
Claudia Y.
I seen a difference in my monthly payment.
Matthew M.
I have yet to receive my retroactive pay please advise when I will receive it. Thankyou
Dianna G.
Dianna G, I haven’t received my retroactive SSA payment for April 2025, my payment was the same as last month. Will I receive it?
Pamela A.
I haven’t received my retroactive pay and it still shows my benefit amount the same in April as I’m getting now