Millions Receive First-Time Social Security Benefits

Millions of individuals who had paid into Social Security did not receive benefits. The Social Security Fairness Act changed that. 

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The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on Jan. 5, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules. The WEP and GPO reduced or eliminated benefits for public sector employees who received a pension from jobs not covered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the SSA, this new Act affected more than 2.8 million people. Some of these people had paid into Social Security in other jobs but were not eligible to receive the benefits.

Who exactly was eligible, and are you eligible?

Some Firefighters, Police Officers, and Other Public Workers Eligible

In March 2025, Mary woke up one morning to discover more than $31,000 in her checking account. At first, she thought it was a mistake, but later, she found out it was due to the 2023 H.R.82-Social Security Fairness Act.

Mary was a retired teacher, a public worker, who hadn’t paid into Social Security through her teaching job. Instead, her state had its own pension fund that she paid into. Mary received that pension.

But Mary had previously worked other jobs and had paid into Social Security over the years. She was also a widow whose husband had paid into Social Security. However, she had not been eligible to receive any benefits. That changed with the Social Security Fairness Act.

Mary, and other teachers in her predicament, could now collect back some of what they had previously paid into Social Security.

This also affected survivor and spousal benefits that were not possible to collect in the past.

The money paid to them was retroactive to January 2024. Thus, Mary received a large windfall. She now also receives a monthly benefit.

Who Is and Isn’t Affected by the Social Security Fairness Act?

Other individuals who may be eligible for benefits under the Social Security Fairness Act include firefighters, police officers, those under the Civil Service Retirement System, and people whose work had been covered by a foreign Social Security system.

The Social Security Fairness Act did not affect all the people working in these professions.

Seventy-two percent of state and local public employees who paid Social Security taxes instead of into a pension fund are not affected by WEP and GPO. As a result, they won’t receive a benefit increase because of the new law.

What Was the WEP and GPO?

The Windfall Elimination Provision was originally passed to adjust the Social Security benefits of people who received a pension from work not covered by Social Security. These were mainly government jobs.

The reasoning was that these people shouldn’t receive a “windfall” by collecting both a full pension and Social Security benefits. But it failed to take into account that many of these people had paid into Social Security through other jobs.

The Government Pension Offset affected the benefits of widows, widowers, and spouses who also received a pension. The GPO reduced survivor or spousal benefits by two-thirds of their government pension.

For example, if you received a monthly civil service pension of $3,000, two-thirds of that, or $2,000, would be deducted from your Social Security benefits. Depending on their Social Security benefit amount, it left many with little or no benefits.

When Did the Social Security Fairness Act Benefit Become Available?

The SSA began paying retroactive benefits in February 2025. If a beneficiary was due retroactive benefits, they were deposited into the bank account the SSA had on file by the end of March 2025.

The retroactive benefit covered the increase to the recipient’s benefit amount back to January 2024. That was the month the WEP and GPO no longer applied.

Since Social Security benefits are paid one month in arrears, most beneficiaries began receiving their new monthly benefit amount in April 2025 for their March 2025 benefit.

The SSA was able to expedite payments using automation. However, for some complex cases, additional time was required to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and new benefits.

Are You Eligible to Receive Social Security Fairness Act Benefits?

To know if you will receive benefits and if you are under a state or federal pension, log into your Social Security account to review your earnings history. If you don’t have an account, go to mySocialSecurity and create one.

If you think you are eligible, contact the SSA to inquire about retroactive payments and the process for claiming them.

You should also apply for retirement, spousal, or survivor benefits online. Or you can make an appointment at an SSA office.

Monitor the SSA’s Social Security Fairness Act website for updates on the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act. There, you will find any changes that could affect your benefits.

Social Security Fairness Act Reinstates Fairness

Millions of individuals who had paid into Social Security did not receive benefits. Spousal, widow, and widower benefits were also denied. Some were denied both types of benefits.

The Social Security Fairness Act changed that.

If you think you qualify for these benefits, contact the SSA.

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