Social Security Announces Expedited Retroactive Payments and Higher Monthly Benefits for Millions – Actions Support the Social Security Fairness Act
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: April 18, 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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Country B.
Ladies and Gentlemen, My Fellow Americans, Our Visitors and Guests, Members of our local, state and National Governments and to whom ever else who may read these articles pertaining to Social Security. First, let me express my appreciation for Social Security but allow me to express an opinion. It is my opinion that the biggest discriminator in our country is our government. When I see the words “if you qualify” I think of discrimination. We constantly hear how Social Security may run out of funds soon, but I don’t recall hearing how money for rent, child care, snap and help for our visitors from foreign lands will be cut out. Maybe I just overlooked that part. We older, more feeble Americans will try to sleep at night. We are less likely to roam the streets destroying businesses, robbing people and participating in drug usage and parties. But, government chooses the feeble to readily take from. Is this discriminatory? If our SS is late and our bills aren’t paid on time, we likely pay a late fee but if our government is late paying our SS, they may tell us it will be late but I haven’t seen any offer to pay a late fee. What are your thoughts and opinions?
Jeff G.
Amen. When my wife passed away 3 years ago I got a check for $250.00!!!
What happened to the 40 years plus of her contribution to SS??
Thankfully its OVER!
CSRS retired postmaster.
Joy T.
Thank you to the Fire Fighters, Police and Teachers Unions who pushed through the Social Security Fairness Act with the support from President Biden and our senators and representatives.
John R.
Thank you President Trump, what a surprise today in my bank account with the Windfall.You did what you said you would do.
Greatly Appreciated
Joy T.
You can thank Joe Biden for your large deposit in your account.
Lynda
NOPE! Congress passed the SS Fairness Act in 2024 and President Biden signed it on January 5, 2025.
Garland L.
My wife and I (retired over 70) both paid into Social Security and received monthly checks. I also worked in a government position covered by their own retirement plan which I contribute too. My wife died four years ago. Her monthly social security check was much higher than mine. For most people, (non-government employees), if a spouse dies, the surviving spouse gets the higher amount of the two spouses. However, this did not apply to me and other government employees because of the Government Pension Offset rule. I was not eligible to receive my deceased wife’s check. I got nothing. This change in the law should allow me to receive my wife’s check but I have many questions on how the amount would be computed since she passed four years ago. Will the four years of COLA since her passing be included or will the amount be based upon what she was getting four years.
Jim
I’ve known the fully favorable decision since before Thanksgiving, have received my third monthly disability payments, but still waiting for the back pay…..not even part of the glut of ppl from the new acts…
Ron
Hi. Got my deposit today. Very pleased and looking forward to the added amount in April. Glad I got those 40 quarters in. Too bad a few of my old employers in the 1960’s didn’t pay in. Or maybe I just didn’t earn enough at 1.00 hr at the time. I am sure this will help with future Medicare costs. It would be nice if Trump could eliminate the tax on SS. That could help a little on groceries. Or help offset the awful gas prices in California.
Elaine M.
Thank you Mr. Biden for signing a bill that teachers and other civil servants have been requesting by mail and phone for decades and all other presidents have ignored. It truly is only fair to pay back what each of us has paid into for decades.
Gordon
Woke up 3 days ago to nearly $6,200 in my checking account from the government. What’s that about?
Anita c.
My husband had to medically retire early as a peace officer, he was not deemed able to receive disability SSI, even if he was deemed 100% disabled. Plus was not able to get his full SSI because he worked for the state for over 30 Yrs .
So his SSI payment was only around 300 monthly.
He has received that for the last 25 yrs.
Today he received retroactive pay which was a good surprise. I know it didn’t cover all those years back nor did it change to disabled SSI. But still happy that changes have been made. It is a start .
Glad president Trump is trying to make things right
Tiffany F.
I received a deposit in my bank account from social security well it was three payments and I only received one how would I know if I received it from a Fair act.