Social Security Pays Billions of Dollars in Retroactive Payments
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: March 5, 2025
The Social Security Administration (SSA) today shared its significant progress to quickly implement the Social Security Fairness Act. Through March 4, 2025, SSA has already paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments. The retroactive payments are the result of the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710.
“President Trump made it very clear he wanted the Social Security Fairness Act to be implemented as quickly as possible,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “We met that challenge head on and are proudly delivering for the American people.”
The WEP and GPO 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 agency continues to pay remaining retroactive payments and is ready to begin paying higher monthly benefit payments beginning in April for people’s March benefit.
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Linda P.
Are the recipients of the checks going to get a letter telling how their money owed was calculated? Mine seems to have fallen short of what I expected.
Greg A.
I think this was a mistake. If they didn’t pay in they should not receive benefits on those dollars. The program is already in trouble, this makes it worse.
As it is, as much as I hate the idea SS needs to be means tested and just lump it all in with taxes. Just to be clear I would be negatively affected.
Helen G.
100% of the people receiving retroactive benefits paid into Social Security just like everyone else. The difference is most of us had two careers. If you have information to the contrary, I would love to see it. You are not the only person who believes this. It would help to know where the misinformation is coming from.
Bill
You chose a plan knowing you would lose SS. This is thievery. Now you get to double dip.
Amparo
Read article over and over please
Jennie R.
No one is double dipping. These folks had their social security benefits reduced or eliminated because they also paid into a government pension. They paid into their own social security account as well as a government pension account. Understand?
Mel M.
You still don’t understand. Some people had two or more careers. One of those careers had to have paid into SS for a minimum of 10 years in order to receive the minimum benefit back, upon reaching full retirement age. The rule is that If one doesn’t pay into SS for 35 years, and then wait till a certain age, that person automatically gets a reduced benefit that is calculated based on a formula based on the number of years paid into the system. I paid into SS for 24 years, not 35, so I knew I would automatically have a reduced benefit compared to all those who paid into the system longer than I paid into it. I expected that; it’s fair. What isn’t fair is that my rightfully reduced SS benefit was cut another 60%. For me, that’s an additional reduction of $1000./month, because I chose to change careers, and finish out my working days serving the public. Using your logic, I am supposed to happily forego any claim to all that money that was automatically withdrawn from my paycheck, month after month, year after year. You should know that 60% of all Americans on SS also have monthly benefits coming to them from another pension plan through their employer, and probably most of them are receiving the maximum SS benefit allowed, based on their contribution. The Federal Government has held my contributions into SS for 56 years, since 1969, when I started paying the FICA payroll tax, aka Federal Insurance Contribution Act. The Rule of 72 states that an investment should double every 7.2 years, so in theory, my contributions should have doubled 8 times. Do you really expect that people like me, who have chosen to protect and serve, should happily walk away from a mandated “savings account” that holds, in my case, well over $1.5 million dollars? The Federal Government held that money in my name, then invested it, and used it, more often than not, for other purposes totally unrelated to supporting American Senior Citizens after they retire.
Payl
You are not reading the article. We did also pay into ss
Maryse A.
I didn’t receive the retroactive payment
Gary H.
People that don’t pay into social security should not get any benefits.
Terry
These people DID pay into it. Read SSA website fairness act section.
Patricia S.
They don’t. Unless it comes from spousal benefits. The Fairness Act means that people who were denied their SS benefits because of a government Pension. That only applied to teachers, policemen, and fireman. Not to others. The Fairness Act corrected this.
Cindy B.
It also applies to air traffic controllers. Also, only those of us hired by the federal government prior to 1984 are affected. We retired under the CSRS retirement system and did not pay SS taxes from that job. We did pay SS taxes at other jobs we held and it’s those SS benefits that were denied to us. FYI: All federal employees, including Congress, who began their careers on or after 01-01-1984 are under the FERS retirement system and have been paying in to SS since that date.
Jennifer S.
Rufugees, illeagal, never paid never will
Lewis W.
Due to the horrendous inflation of the past 4 years, it would be helpful to Seniors on SSI to have their asset level raised to approximately $5000. from the current $2000.
Kathy
I totally agree, Lewis. It’s not just people who had a pension that need this help.
I trust that more adjustments will be made as the whole system is overhauled; I just hope they hurry for all of us who are struggling! 🙂
Jennifer S.
Hard to tell the formula. You will never….. get what you lost! Figure $900 per month for 15 years…..
Chris D.
Like thousands of other workers, I paid into SS including my 23 years working for our local fire dept. where I earned a pension. The pension plan, which did not collect SS taxes was approved by the Feds. However during those 23 years I worked a second, sometimes third, job on my days off, paying SS. Bottom line I did pay SS for nearly 60-years.
Susan K.
I have 30 years municipal employment and get a pension but did not pay SS into it–I worked 2 and 3 jobs my entire life, and they have kept half all these years. I suppose we will see something, but I doubt it will be what they owe us because the retro only goes back a year. Wish I know what I was getting. Good Luck to you!
Patricia
I read that this reimbursement applies to teachers, too. When I retired I was told that I would not receive payments from SS because I was a teacher, and I didn’t pay into SS! I am waiting for my check! ❤️
Carlene H.
Why should you get it if you didn’t pay in?
Patricia S.
If you didn’t pay into SS you are not going to get reimbursements unless you are collecting them through your husband who paid into SS.
Kathryn
If you didn’t pay into ss you will not be receiving any money.
Hill F.
Spousal and survivor benefits will be paid. Not all spouses or survivors who receive benefits paid into SS.
jake
so what he kills everything else this is not news for doing what is right
Charles R.
Did I get anything? I guess not!
Gloria
How about removing federal income taxes on civil service pensions?
Rose
Agreed. Shouldn’t remove taxes from one federal pension but not another. A general exemption amount should apply to both.