Have you received a higher-than-expected Social Security payment? This could be the reason for the new amount
Some Social Security beneficiaries may have noticed that their monthly payment was bigger than usual this month. More should expect the same. Here’s why.
Millions of Social Security beneficiaries have been receiving a pleasant surprise when they check their bank accounts over the past couple months. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been moving swiftly to send out one-time retroactive payments, on average for $6,710, and adjust monthly benefits amounts, in some case by over $1,000.
The move was triggered after the last Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act and the law was enacted on 5 January. The legislation repealed two laws that reduced benefits for certain workers, their spouses and survivors who receive pensions for employment not covered by Social Security.
Specifically, the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million public sector workers, including firefighters, police officers and teachers.
Since beginning to implement the new law, the SSA says that as of 18 April it has processed 2.3 million adjustments, or roughly 82 percent of the total. Some of these beneficiaries already began to see adjustments to their benefits with their April payments.
The agency will continue to move forward expediting the cases of those affected automatically. But it warns that many complex cases will require additional time in order to manually update the records.
“We are releasing retroactive benefits and sending new monthly benefit amounts as we process each case, with the expectation that all beneficiary records will be updated by early November 2025,” states the SSA.
How much will the Social Security Fairness Act increase benefits by?
Per a September 2024 estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will increase monthly benefits by an average of $360 for Social Security beneficiaries previously impacted by the WEP, and by an average of between $700 and $1,190 for Americans who were affected by the GPO.
The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710 states the SSA.
With your personal #mySocialSecurity account, you can choose to receive email or text alerts when you have a new notice available in the Message Center. Learn more here: https://t.co/P6Ch6hfx3K pic.twitter.com/kE6L4DKWkq
— Social Security (@SocialSecurity) March 31, 2025
How do I know if I will receive a larger payment?
The SSA will send a mailed notice explaining the monthly benefit change and the retroactive payment. Beneficiaries should be aware that the one-time retroactive payment may arrive before the mailed notice is received.
The federal government estimates that up to 3.2 million people are impacted by the new law.
The agency had asked those who have not received their retroactive payment to wait until April to call the SSA. For those that have questions about how much their monthly payments will increase the SSA likewise asked that those beneficiaries wait until they have received their April payment.
Only a small number of that total will need to inform the SSA of their possible eligibility. They include the following people:
- are not sure whether they ever applied for retirement, spouse’s, or surviving spouse’s benefits and
- never applied for retirement due to WEP or spouse’s or surviving spouse’s benefits because of GPO.
If you never applied for retirement, spouse’s, or surviving spouse’s benefits because of WEP or GPO, “you may need to file an application,” advises the SSA. The SSA also notes that those who never applied should select “Family Benefits,” which covers both retirement and Medicare benefits.
You can file an application online, or, new this year, the SSA is taking applications by phone. You can call 1-800-772-1213 (M-F 9am to 6pm ET).
“When the system asks, ‘How can I help you today?‘, say ‘Fairness Act.’ Then, you’ll be asked a few questions,” instructs the SSA. The answers you give will help the SSA connect you to a WEP-GPO trained representative who will take your claim.
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