Millions to Receive Social Security Retroactive Payments

Some of these beneficiaries, most of whom were either federal employees or worked for local governments, will also see bigger monthly checks beginning in April.

A Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Millions of Americans who receive Social Security benefits will get a lump-sum amount and see a spike in their monthly payments as part of a new law signed last month, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

The agency “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),” SSA said in a Feb. 25 statement.

“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).”

As these individuals’ earnings were not covered under Social Security, they never paid Social Security taxes from their salaries during employment. Most of them worked for various levels of government.

However, the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), signed into law in January by President Joe Biden, ended WEP and GPO.

Since these provisions no longer apply as of January 2024, many Social Security beneficiaries are set to receive retroactive payments. According to the SSA, most people will receive these one-time payments as deposits in their bank accounts by the end of March.

Besides this, many beneficiaries are expected to start receiving higher monthly benefits beginning in April. The change in payment will vary depending on several factors such as the amount of pension received and the type of Social Security benefit.

People who stand to benefit under the new rule include firefighters, teachers, police officers, individuals whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system, and federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.

Beneficiaries set to receive retroactive payments or see higher monthly payments will be notified by the SSA via mail. Retroactive payments are not likely to be received before the notice. The agency said it was using automation to expedite payments.

“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.”

‘Welcome News’ or ‘Unearned Windfall’

Biden signed the SSFA into law on Jan. 5. The bill, authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), received bipartisan support in both chambers, passing the House by a vote of 327–75 and Senate by 76–20.

After the SSFA was passed in the two chambers, Sens. Collins and Brown wrote a letter to the SSA acting commissioner asking that the agency swiftly implement the Act.

On Tuesday, Collins praised the SSA’s recent announcement, saying this was “welcome news for beneficiaries.”

“I will continue to urge SSA to implement the law swiftly as we finally right this wrong,” she said.

The decision to repeal GPO and WEP provisions from Social Security has faced criticism. Advocacy group The Concord Coalition said in a Dec. 16 statement that the SSFA Act “ignores the real injustice.”

The group criticized claims that people were denied retirement benefits because they worked in public service. Most teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other government employees receive both public pensions and Social Security, which happens because these workers contribute to the two plans throughout their careers, the advocacy group said.

“Fewer than 30 percent of state and local government employees have chosen not to participate in Social Security. These non-covered workers are not being denied Social Security because of their public service careers.” the group said. Instead, “they do not receive Social Security benefits because they do not pay Social Security payroll taxes.”

“Non-covered workers are not being singled out for unfair treatment. Indeed, repealing the GPO and WEP would result in more favorable treatment. They would get more and pay less than everyone else. That would be an unearned windfall,” the advocacy group said.

Meanwhile, the SSA is under review by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which recently said it found that millions of dead people were listed as eligible for benefits in the agency’s database. More than 12 million people were listed as being aged above 120 years old.

The new acting head of SSA said these individuals were “not necessarily receiving benefits” and expressed confidence in DOGE audits.