The Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) was passed and signed into law in the final days of 2024, paving the way for over 3 million retirees, spouses and surviving spouses to receive back Social Security benefits and monthly increases going forward.
Retired public sector employees and spouses who are eligible for retroactive benefits from 2024, and an increase in 2025 monthly payments, should have received their monthly increases in their March check that arrived in April.
Retroactive payments began arriving the week of February 24 and were completed by July 7, 2025. The Social Security Administration (SSA) touted in a press release that it "completed sending over 3.1 million payments, totaling $17 billion, to beneficiaries eligible under the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), 5 months ahead of schedule." When the law was first passed, the SSA estimated it might take over a year to finish the process.
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The Social Security Administration (SSA) has said that some beneficiaries would have to wait longer if their cases are 'complex.' The SSA noted in its release that ongoing monthly benefits should be adjusted by July 2025. Since the SSA pays benefits the month after they are due, you may not see the change in your benefit with the payment until you receive your check in August 2025.
1. What is the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA)?
The Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) was signed into law by President Biden on December 21, 2024. It repealed the Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in 1977, and the Windfall Elimination Provision(WEP), which followed in 1983.
The GPO was the first offset provision to be passed and was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. It was enacted to help improve the financial health of the program by reducing benefits paid to a spouse or surviving spouse collected based on the employment of someone who had a non-covered pension.
The WEP was enacted during Ronald Reagan's presidency. The WEP, which reduced Social Security benefits for workers who receive government pensions not covered by Social Security, was another cost-saving measure. It was also meant to correct a glitch in the benefits formula that treated government employees, who may have contributed to the system for only a few years, as low-wage workers. As a result, those public employees received a disproportionately large Social Security benefit, plus their government pension.
Now, public sector retirees and their spouses will receive the full benefits in addition to their pensions. The SSFA is being applied retroactively to benefits paid after December 2023. That means most eligible retirees and spouses should have received a lump sum payment to cover the shortfall of their 2024 benefits through 2025.
2. Who is eligible for the retroactive payments and monthly increase?
Are all public sector retirees eligible for the retroactive payments and increases for 2025 and after? No, you have to meet certain requirements. Only retirees, their spouses, or surviving spouses who receive pension benefits based on work not covered by Social Security may see benefit increases under this new law.
According to the SSA, about 72% of state and local public employees work in Social Security-covered employment, where they pay Social Security taxes and are not affected by WEP or GPO. Those individuals will not receive a benefit increase due to the Act.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 2.1 million retirees, 3% of current SS beneficiaries, will be eligible to receive a monthly increase. The number of spouses and surviving spouses is smaller, with only 770,000 recipients expected to receive an increase due to the repeal.
Since SSFA became law, the SSA has also received over 278,000 new claims from people with pensions from work not covered by Social Security. The SSA says they have processed 92% of the new claims so far. If you filed a new claim after the law took effect, sit tight; the SSA may still be working to process your application.
3. How much will the retroactive payment be? How much will monthly benefits increase by?
I think this is the information most people want to know — how much the retroactive payments will be and the amount of the monthly increase. Fortunately, the CBO has provided estimates of the average amounts the different groups of beneficiaries can expect to receive.
As of March 4, 1,127,723 people had received their lump sum payment, and the average retroactive payment was $6,710. The SSA hasn't released any additional information about the average amounts of lump sums.
The amount of the monthly increase in benefits can vary greatly. The amount will depend on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received (retired worker, spouse, or surviving spouse), the amount of the person's pension, and when the employee retired. Some people's benefits will increase very little, while others may be eligible for an increase of over $1,000 more each month.
In May 2025, the average Social Security monthly check for retired workers was $2,002.39, an increase of $2.42 over April's average amount of $1,999.97, according to the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Monthly Statistical Snapshot.
4. How far back will SSFA relief be applied to retiree benefits?
December 2023 is the last month that the WEP and GPO will apply to benefits. This means that benefits payable after December 2023 are eligible for the upward adjustment. So, all 2024 payments are eligible for a recalculation without the WEP and GPO reductions. As a reminder, benefits payable in January are typically disbursed in February, and so on.
5. When will you see your retroactive Social Security benefit increase because of the SSFA?
If you were collecting Social Security benefits in 2024 that were reduced by the WEP or GPO, you should have received your retroactive payment by the end of March. The payments started going out the week of February 24.
As of July 7, the SSA completed sending over 3.1 million payments, totaling $17 billion, to beneficiaries eligible under the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA). If you were among the last cases to be processed, you should see the change in your benefit with the payment received in August 2025. If you haven't received your lump sum or adjustment, call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time.
If you filed a new claim for benefits after the SSFA was passed, you may have to wait just a little longer. The SSA says they have processed 92% of the 278,000 people with pensions from work not covered by Social Security.
6. When will you see your monthly Social Security benefit increase because of the SSFA?
If your 2024 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 July 7, the SSA completed sending payments to beneficiaries eligible under the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA). If you were among the last cases to be processed, you should see the change in your benefit with the payment received in August 2025. If you haven't received benefits as of your designated payment date in August, call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time.
7. Complex cases will require more time
The SSA says that they were able to expedite payments by automating the process. Unfortunately, this means that complex cases will take longer to complete. These cases will require additional time to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefits amount.
The SSA says they have completed processing the lump sum and benefit adjustments, so if you haven't received your payment or monthly increase, it's time to call the SSA at call 1-800-772-1213 (call TTY +1 800-325-0778 if you're deaf or hard of hearing) or make an appointment to discuss the matter at a local SSA office.
8. What should you do now that the Social Security Fairness Act is law?
If you are retired, you may need to apply to get the benefit of the SSFA if you never applied for benefits. Be aware that all other Social Security laws and policies, such as benefit reductions for claiming benefits before the full retirement age (FRA) and the annual earnings test, still apply.
Current public sector employees and retirees. Are you waiting to file until you have reached your FRA to boost your monthly check by earning delayed retirement credits? If so, you don't have to do a thing to benefit from the repeal of the WEP provision. When you file for benefits, your monthly amount will not be reduced. You aren't entitled to back benefits because you were collecting benefits in 2024.
If you are unsure if you applied or have never applied. Now is the time to fill out the application. The earlier you get it in, the sooner it can be processed.
The easiest way to apply for retirement or spouses' benefits is online at the SSA website. Be aware that the online application continues to collect pension information until the SSA updates its forms. However, the offset will not impact your benefits. The question is a relic that will be removed.
Special Fairness Act application intake process for retired workers and spouses/surviving spouses. The SSA will now take applications by telephone for people who did not previously apply for retirement benefits because of WEP, or spouse's or surviving spouse's benefits because of GPO. If you meet these conditions, call 1-800-772-1213 (call TTY +1 800-325-0778 if you're deaf or hard of hearing) to get started; SSA phone lines are open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. When the telephone system asks, "How can I help you today?" say "Fairness Act." You will then be asked a few questions, and those answers will help the SSA connect you to a WEP-GPO-trained representative to take your claim.
Previously, surviving spouses were unable to apply for benefits over the telephone.
If you have previously applied for Social Security benefits. If you have previously applied for benefits as a worker, spouse, or surviving spouse, you don't have to do anything. As long as you have your current mailing address and direct deposit information on file, the SSA has everything it needs to notify you and disburse your retroactive benefits.
9. Why did SSA request information regarding the amount of my pension?
Because the WEP and GPO still apply to months before January 2024. In some instances, the SSA may need to request the amount received for your pension from work not covered by Social Security to verify that they are paying you correctly for these months. It isn't a trap to reduce your retroactive payment or monthly increase.
Updated on February 27, 2025 to reflect payment schedule for back benefits from 2024 and monthly increases for 2025. Updated on March 5, 2025 to include statistics about the number of retroactive payments distributed, the total amount paid and the average payment. Updated on March 11, 2025 to update the number of monthly beneficiary increases that had been processed. Updated May 16, 2025 to update the number of monthly beneficiary increases that had been processed. Updated July 11, 2025 to update the number of monthly beneficiary increases that had been processed and how many new claims were received and processed.
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