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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Tony
The state and local politicians and bureaucrats with Cadillac government pension will now receive billions of dollars in retroactive payments and billions of dollars going forward.
Meanwhile, the federal workers are being fired. The VA is planning to fire 80,000 employees and the IRS is planning to fire 90,000 employees. That is over 10X the amount the SSA fired. You know the Trump SSA cabinet member is not going to be outdone and is going to fire thousands more.
Rose
Check your figures. For instance IRS only has 90k employees. Most federal employees don’t make the kind of money employees in DC make.
Lola
Are more payments due to be sent out?
Carlene H.
Yes… the whole month of March and into April… monthly increase possible to start in May… you may see money into your bank and not get a letter explaining it until after the $$ appears.
It’s going to be months before it all settles. Give them time. Have a great day.
Don B.
This statement leads taxpayers to believe the recipients of these benefit payments never payed deductions into the SS system. This is NOT CORRECT.
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.
People who ONLY had jobs with those pensions did not pay into the SS system.
The statement fails to mention that the WEP and GPO people actually DID pay into the system and because they DID pay into SS they are now entitled to the full benefit of their deductions that were paid into the system.
Is the amount they will receive truly fair?
The prior WEP and GPO formulas were calculated differently for those who may have qualified for benefits and those benefits would be lowered to reflect the calculations that were made to favor lifetime lower wage earners and not favoring those with second careers after or before the pension. Those pensioners contributed to the system or they would NEVER collect any benefit. I repeat for clarity… If you were a pensioner who never paid into the SS system.. you do not qualify for any benefit.
However, if you were a pensioner who took on a second career that did pay deductions into the SS system….you may have earned a retirement benefit from SS. You paid into the system you deserve a benefit. There is no free lunch for pensioners who never paid in.
Carlene H.
Great explanation… thanks
Kathryn
Yes, you explained this perfectly!
Doug E.
You can repeat it all you want..but you are wrong in some part..If a CSRS employee who never paid a dime into SS, they still qualify for half of their spouses SS amount IF the spouse if reitred and is collecting SS.
Lee R.
In what order are retroactive payments being made?
nancy e.
how do we find out if we will get any money
Ej L.
I don’t understand how social security denied my application and I have Heart Failure, Pacemaker hiv, hepatitis b, neuropathy in both legs, COPD, slipped rib syndrome, and awaiting results for lung cancer.
James S.
Don’t give up Ej. They deny almost all claims when you first file. They even acknowledge they do this. You can use an attorney or dispute their decision yourself. The attorney only gets paid if you win your appeal/dispute. Unfortunately, all of this takes time, however, if you win your case, your payments are retroactive to the day you filed, or close to it. My case took 12 months to dispute and win. I did not use a lawyer. I received a deposit of approximately 12 months worth of payments in a lump sum, followed by regular monthly deposits. Don’t give up the fight.
If your conditions you mentioned are accurate, you are clearly entitled to SSDI
Gloria M.
Hoq many months does the retro cover, and are cost of living accounts applied accordingly? I am trying to calculate my new benefit. Thank you.
Terry
Read SSA website. This has been talked about on the site and on the news since President Biden signed the bill. It goes back to January 2024.
Rose
Retro benefits received in March are for 14 months. If you look at your account on SSA site you can see your new benefit amount before you get a letter.
Brian c.
Was the retro pay have the cola raise for 2024&2025
Doug D.
How is the order of payments determined? Is it by SSN, years receiving benefits, Social Security payment date, or something else?
Nan B.
Thank you President Biden for signing this new law!
Jami
Exactly. It was Joe Biden’s administration that did this repeal.
It should never had been enacted in the first place. Congress was drunk before noon in those days. We were better off.