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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Debra F.
Does anyone know what is “complex cases”, perhaps an
explanation of the complexity could be simplified by communicating with the benificiary.
DEBRA
Roberta R.
Totally agree with you on this. No one explains what they consider a complex case to be. Seems quite a few of us fall into this category with no explanation as to why.
Crystal T.
My mom retired from the medical field and has not received any of the retroactive payments. When she called to find out why, they stated that none of her work history was recorded. My mom worked since she was 14 and in the medical field since she was 25, she’s now 76. How does that even make sense?
Raymond W.
I am a retired CSRS employee and have not received any retroactive pay from the Social Security Fairness Act. I also paid in the required 40 quarters. Why haven-t the outstanding retirees who are impacted not been at least notified that their case(s) are being worked on? This might cut down on the number of questions & contacts and thus required responses from your staff(s). An estimated completion time would be a bonus. Thanks and keep up the good, efficient work.
Raymond W.
I am a retired CSRS employee and have not received any retroactive pay from the Social Security Fairness Act. I also paid in the required 40 quarters. Why haven-t the outstanding retirees who are impacted not been at least notified that their case(s) are being worked on? This might cut down on the number of questions & contacts and thus required responses from your staff(s). An estimated completion time would be a bonus. Thanks and keep up the good, efficient work.
Ana R.
I was a paraprofessional at a school district.
I do qualify for WEP since my SS was drastically cut when I first applied for it.
My husband already got his lump sum and his new amount.
I am still waiting on my lump sum and in APRIL I still received the same amount as always.
I called about 3 weeks ago and they told me they were still working on mine!
No letter, no explanation as to what is going on….just “WORKING ON IT”
Cecil S.
I believe I have a complex case and was trying to find out how long it would take for me to receive my backpay
FRANK C.
i also have a complex case the only answer i get there working on it .Keep checking your bank account been doing that since beginning of March still nothing
Ruby H.
I am a retired CSRS employee and have not received any retroactive pay from the Social Security Fairness Act. I also paid in the required 40 quarters. My deceased spouse of 38 years also paid a sufficient amount into social security.
The only answer I am given when calling the Social Security Office is to wait they have not reached my name yet. Can you please provide me with any other information?
Teresa
I just got my email last week so they are still working on the cases. I guess you need to be patient.
Barbara S.
Have received no communication , no check as of May 3rd…spent an hour on hold…no help, then disconnected…?
Mary F.
I was a teacher in the State of Illinois having worked 35 years in the system. I qualify for reimbursement from fairness act. My sister is the same. We both have living spouses making us eligible through GPO. She received her reimbursement and lump sum checks this past month. I have had to prove my identity, get refused and spend hours on the phone contacting social security……The response is: You are eligible but it may take time as there are many others who have complicated situations. In other words, no response….just the usual “pat” answer. Why is my case not computer generated as my sister’s seemed to be?
Jennifer S.
Are the most complex cases put on the back burner until ALL of the easy cases are resolved. Is that fair? How difficult and time consuming is it to resolve a COMPLEX case. Is it your policy to take care of the easy ones first and let the others sit and wait it out?
William E.
Was aa State Policeman for 34 yrs. retiring in 2003. State Police paid my S.S. – Question? am I eligible in the Fairness Act. Thank You
AnnetteB
Obviously the only way teachers get any SS benefits is if they earned them by paying into the system. I taught for 38 years but worked other jobs before, during, and after teaching and paid into the SS. I did get a retroactive payment but still lost $150,000 in SS payments for over ten years that I was deemed ineligible before the repeal. I paid in for 42+ years and should get these benefits.