Social Security Sent Out Billions in Back Payments in March. Here's What You Need to Know

Social Security Fairness Act retroactive checks were sent to over 1.1 million beneficiaries over the last week. Monthly increases will start for most people with their March benefit, which is paid out in April.

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Back benefits began arriving in March for many of the 2.1 million retirees and 770,000 spouses and surviving spouses entitled to payments as a result of the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security Administration announced. Increased monthly payments will start in April, reflecting higher March benefits.

As of March 4, the SSA has paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments, according to a press release.

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January, eliminated the decades-old Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which limited or in some cases eliminated the Social Security benefits that could be received by taxpayers who were also receiving pensions. As a result of the Act, beneficiaries will now receive back pay for 2024 and will see higher payments going forward.

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Beneficiaries should be aware that they may receive the retroactive payment before receiving the mailed notice from the SSA about the payment. Those impacted by the WEP and GPO may receive up to two mailed notices: one when WEP or GPO is removed from their record, and the other when the monthly benefit amount is adjusted to reflect their new higher monthly payment amount.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) had previously said it could take up to a year to process the retroactive payments due to people that collected benefits in 2024 and monthly increases to 2025 benefit checks. Now, the SSA has said that back benefits will begin arriving this week and monthly increases will take effect a bit later.

Automation and complex cases

The SSA says that they “have been able to expedite payments due to the use of automation.” This also means that complex cases will take longer to process. These cases will require additional time to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefits amount.

The SSA urges beneficiaries to be patient and not contact the SSA until April. These cases will be processed incrementally throughout the month of March.

How much is the average Social Security Fairness Act retroactive check?

Payments started arriving in accounts the week of February 24. As of March 4, the average retroactive payment received by 1,127,723 recipients was $6,710, with a total of $7.5 billion having been distributed.

When will Social Security Fairness Act checks be deposited?

If you were collecting Social Security benefits in 2024 that were reduced by the WEP or GPO, your retroactive payment should arrive by the end of March at the latest.

By the end of March, you will receive a one-time retroactive payment, deposited into the bank account the SSA has on file. This retroactive payment will cover the increase in your benefit amount back to January 2024, the month when WEP and GPO no longer apply.

New higher monthly benefit amount

If your 2025 monthly benefits were reduced by the WEP or GPO, you are eligible for this upward adjustment. Social Security benefits are paid one month behind. According to the SSA, most affected beneficiaries will begin receiving their new monthly benefit amount for March 2025 in April 2025. As of March 28, the SSA had processed 2.3 million or 75% of monthly SSFA adjustments.

Again, beneficiaries are asked to hold off on contacting the SSA. They request that you wait until after you receive your April payment (for March benefits) before contacting SSA to ask about the new monthly benefit amount, as the new amount will not be reflected until April.

Recent updates

Updated on March 5, 2025 to include the number of beneficiates paid and the total and average amounts paid to eligible recipients. Updated March 11, 2025 to include the percentage of monthly SSFA increases that had been processed. Updated March 19, 2025 to update the percentage of monthly SSFA increases that had been processed. Updated April 1, 2025 to update the percentage of monthly SSFA increases that had been processed and time sensitive text.

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Donna LeValley
Donna LeValley
Retirement Writer

Donna joined Kiplinger as a personal finance writer in 2023. She spent more than a decade as the contributing editor of J.K.Lasser's Your Income Tax Guide and edited state specific legal treatises at ALM Media. She has shared her expertise as a guest on Bloomberg, CNN, Fox, NPR, CNBC and many other media outlets around the nation. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and the University at Buffalo. 

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