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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Sara W.
I retired January 2023 and was penalized for having another pensions and my monthly allowance from SSA was reduced. I pray that I will be able to receive the retroactive payment and a higher monthly allowance. Thank God for moving upon those involved in introducing and padding this bill!
Joseph W.
I received letter I would be paid retro on or about march 18,I have yet to receive retro payment, what’s up?
Cynthia E.
I need my 5 check s they keep I want to be forgiven
Mike b.
I need a check too , trump please give all said and said recipients a check has well. We don’t even come close to middle class which the low end is 80 k , I make bout 14k per year how is that right.
D
I believe you have to have contributed to it in order get get anything at this point. There are other possiblilities to help you financially.
Lulu
Trump has NOTHING to do with these payments, they were well in the works because of Biden before Trump took office, but, once again, Trump takes credit for everything he has nothing to do with that’s good, and pawns off the blame for anything that’s bad on whoever standing next to him at the time.
Judy
It’s sad how ignorant people choose to be.
Lulu
Just an FYI… Trump had absolutely NOTHING to do with these payments. These are a result of the Biden administration and are just now being sent out, but par for the course… Trump will take credit for anything that people view as positive, and will blame whoever happens to be standing next to him at the time for anything the public perceives as bad. This administration is a joke.
Jacqueline R.
Is there going to be an increase in Social Security Disability besides the 2.5% for 2025?
C.B.
Hi, Jacqueline. Thanks for reading our blog and for your question. We will not know if there will be a COLA, or the amount of the COLA, until late October when the Department of Labor releases information on inflation for the past year. We hope this helps.
Kathleen W.
This is ridiculous. If social security payments made by the employer and employee were managed correctly without other agencies “ sticking their fingers in it,” it should have trillions of dollars available. I worked all my life. The last fifteen years of my work history was as a postal employee. But by the time I made career employee status, the unions had bargained away civil service retirement. I depend on my $1400.00 dollars a-month from social security to survive.
And don’t get me started on CMS and how private HMOs insurance is stealing from the government. They pay salesman to sell their Medicare HMOs. No one wants to be a doctor anymore as their goal in life, because they don’t get paid enough by these HMOs. Where is the money that is denied the doctors going? You are fortunate to get seen by a nurse practitioner. It is all due to mismanagement of funds.
The politicians who are guaranteed a great salary, great benefits, great retirement are living in a bubble of greatness. We common people are on the outside looking in just trying to survive. I don’t eat three meals a day and most of the time it is cereal with milk. Don’t you dare pity me. Instead help me live with dignity.
Christine B.
I agree with everything you say. Our problem l think is that the average IQ in the US is 98. People can be easily fooled with glib statements. They seem to have no desire to deal with the realities of these dysfunctional systems because they have little insight into how things have become.
Verona B.
3/30/25 To date, I have been overlooked as I have not received ANY communication letter nor retroactive payment from SSA. And yes, I am one whose Soc Sec retirement payments were affected by WEP and has been reduced by approximately 60% every month. I have called my local SS office twice in the last 2 weeks and they said there is no Soc Sec Fairness Act letter in my account. They also explained that all WEP/GPO retroactive and monthly payments are processed by another department. They do not have that department’s name nor contact info. They have complained that all of this is new so, this leads me to believe that they themselves have not yet been trained on how to process WEP/GPO adjustments. Since my name has been overlooked there seems to be an error. I would like to speak directly to the person in charge of processing WEP/GPO retroactive and monthly payments so we can get my account straightened out. What is his/her name and contact number, please!
Roberta R.
You are not alone. Myself and others have not received any letters. I called last week and was initially told a half hour hold which turned into an hour and a half hold. Nice young man took my call however all he could tell me was that my account was being looked at. Have been effected by WPE also, paid into social security for over 24 plus years and also had a reduction because of my pension from state government work. Even was penalized for an overpayment that was not my fault from the WEP regarding my pension and ss benefits. Filed a waiver never got any results from it. Understand they are working under difficult conditions. Hopefully we all will receive our payments.
Charles R.
I to in same boat cant get any information from SS office. Only info I have gotten is if the retro payments don’t arrive by by 31 March may have to wait a year for payment.
Jim M.
I would request a timeline for paying the 750,000 WEP/GPO adjustments not yet made by the expected date of April 1, 2025, please.
Janet G.
My husband passed away from lung cancer. He was a volunteer fireman. Will I be receiving increase in the widow’s benefit.
C.B.
We’re sorry for your loss, Janet. 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. Thanks for reading our blog.
richard h.
I have rec’d a deposit for retroactive payment to Dec 2023, thanks…and a great bump in my monthly SS…..
However, I retired in June of 2013 – will I receive the denied SS benefit for that time frame ?..I did my end of the work….
.
Am I alone here, or do others have the same thought……
Dar D.
Congrats Richard
I still dont understand who gets the payment I am a retired nurse do you know if nurses qualify ?
I exist only on my SS benefits and my husband doesn’t work.
Thank you for any info you might be able to tell me.
May i ask how much the initial check was for?
Respectfully
Dar
Judy
Unless you get a Fed. pension, this does not pertain to you.
Judy
No, From Jan. 24 to Jan 25,one year is what we get and the higher adjusted monthly payment from that point on, which your first check comes at the higher amount in April.
Anthony D.
I worked for a local government ( city) for 12 years didn’t pay into social security i was put on disability thru my opera am I entitled to the fairness act?
Baldemar n.
I worked for the government all my life. Am I going to receive a check
C.B.
Hi, Baldemar. 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.
C.B.
Hi, Anthony. 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.