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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John W.
Finally white people are getting repetitions for supporting non-working minorities. Thank you Joe Biden for passing this law.
Verona B.
SSA.GOV’s latest SS Fairness Act update dd 5/27/25 indicates that 86% retroactive payments have been processed. However, as of today 5/28/25, the remaining 13% of us WEP/GPO qualified recipients have not received any letters/notices nor monies deposited into our verified bank accounts. Please note that my WEP situation is not complex! Where is SSA’s transparency and my right to know what is going on with my account i.e. where am I on the list of being processed? And no one at the SSA offices I visited even knows where WEP/GPO payments are being processed. ALSO, no one at SSA has answered my online question of how to contact the new SSA head Frank Bisignano’s office! Who do I contact to find out where I am on the WEP/GPO payment/reimbursement list?
Lour L.
Does these take away from your SS month payment and does it stop after so many months. Is these a scam? Not want to miss up my SS need it
Lour Lee Hartman
Annie G.
I am the same boat I was told I would get a letter now 2months in I have received any information as to if I qualify or not. I work 20 years for the Defense department and 20 years in private industry before I was employed by the federal Government.
Samantha G.
My husband received the letter saying that he was going to receive his back pay in December, and as of today we still not received it. He’s receiving his benefits monthly
Martha M.
Hey I haven’t heard a peek! I worked as a federal government civil servant for 45 years since 1973 under CSRS. I qualify to get retroactive backpay and an increase in my monthly social security check since I was affected by WEP and GPO. I get no respect, no letter, no phone call and no notice!!! Please respond to this inquiry as soon as possible. I need what is owed to me because I worked too hard and too long.
Gayle R.
I received my backpay and my new amount of SS in March. To date my husband has not heard a word and we retired at the same time AND were both entitled to the windfall elimination. I called in April and was told his account was flagged, but that is all we know. I am not sure why his would be complicated and mine was not.
Samantha G.
My husband was supposed to receive his back pay in December 2024 and we still haven’t received it. Now he’s receiving his monthly checks but not his back pain yet
Verona B.
5-28-25I have not received any letters/notices or verified bank account increases and my WEP situation is NOT complex. Even after 2 appointments at my local SSA ofc: they don’t have any SS Fairness Act payment info: they don’t even have a phone number we can call to find out where we are on the processing list. And the SSA.GOV website info is too generalized and lacks relevant details such as at least providing simple 2-column list, sorted by last 4 digits of our SSNs, that indicates our WEP/GPO processing dates. Thus, their website is useless to those remaining 13% WEP/GPO pending recipients who have not been communicated with nor processed yet. We are left in the dark and denied important information regarding our own SSA accounts!
Gayle, you are VERY lucky for 3 reasons: you received your backpay in a timely manner; you received your monthly increase in a timely manner; and you know the status of your husband’s account as being flagged! FYI, SSA.GOV website’s generalized info states:
“For the many complex cases that cannot be processed automatically, additional time is required to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefits amount.” So, Gayle, they ARE working on your husband’s account. And in lieu of expediting, please allow them the extra time it will take to figure out your husband’s case correctly.
Valerie R.
I haven’t heard anything & it’s frustrating because I’m actually making less then I did 2 years ago because SS decided to make me pay more on my Medicare deductible because of my husband’s pension
Keith A.
It seems when there extra benefits, for some reason I never qualify. My SS. Is under $2,000 per month.
Terry W.
My SS benefit is about $1700/mo. I get a State Service Retirement benefit of over $1100.I hope you have another source of income. Between 900.00 rent and about 400.00 medical expenses plus the Erstwhile spousal unit left me holding a bag of feces, I live in poverty city .I’m a free man now. Liable to remain that way as females aren’t fond of fellas with few dollahs. LOL.
nancy j.
husband died 2/25/25 have not received any notifications on when we will receive WEP benefits or retro medicare payments please wake up SS and get these letters and payments out
MARLENE E.
Now going into June. Ladies…you’re lucky to receive any notification. To-date I’m still in the dark; no notification, no change in my SSN direct deposit. NOTHING! Yes, I agree, very frustrating but I also sympathize with the short-handed personnel staff.
Jan C.
I know I am due windfall but still waiting. Did receive SS check May 15 so, don’t understand why not retro monies? Anybody know???
Alexa
Received my Social Security letter, indicating benefit increases effective May to be received in June. However, I have not received notification regarding retroactive pay, nor have I received any retroactive pay. anybody in the same situation?
Roberta R.
Your lucky you received a letter. Have received only one notification and that was over 2 months ago by email. No letters and when calling was told my account was flagged. Tried calling again told it would be over 120 minute wait time. Called at an off time too. Must have one of the WEP complex cases they must have to do manually. Sympathize with the employees at the bureau, but also am frustrated with not getting any legitimate answers.
Jack A.
No notice no back pay..civil service retiree..letter carrier.
Riki H.
I haven’t received anything either
Riki H.
I haven’t received anything either