(NewsNation) — The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday it’s beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to millions of former public workers.
This will apply to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.
More than 3.2 million Social Security recipients will soon see a boost in their benefits, including those who received pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs.
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Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, and new monthly payments will begin in April, according to the agency.
“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.”
WEP and GPO initially limited Social Security benefits for recipients if they got retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programs from a state or local government.
SSA urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment since these payments will be processed incrementally into March.
How will it impact Social Security long-term?
Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decadesold disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.
Critics are concerned it will cause Social Security funds to run out sooner than projected. Estimates predict money will dry up by 2035, but some lawmakers say the Fairness Act would expedite that.
“The bill I’m signing is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity — that’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system,” former President Joe Biden said during a signing ceremony in the White House East Room in January. “This is a big deal.”
The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.
Visit the agency’s Social Security Fairness Act website for updates and more information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
