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.