Millions Will See a $360 (Or More) Social Security Increase in April

If you receive Social Security benefits, you could be up for a small financial windfall. Thanks to a new law, millions of Americans could start seeing larger payments.

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, eliminates outdated provisions that reduced or eliminated benefits for certain retirees.

We'll walk you through what the legislation means, including who qualifies and how much you can expect to receive. Plus, find out how to maximize your senior benefits and make the most of your retirement income.

The Social Security Fairness Act repeals two dated provisions that prevented certain retirees from receiving their full Social Security benefits. Many teachers, police officers, and firefighters, along with certain federal employees, were denied their full benefits due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

With the WEP, benefits were reduced for retirees who received a pension from a job that did not collect Social Security taxes, while the GPO lowered or eliminated spousal and survival benefits for those with a government pension and didn't require paying Social Security taxes.

The repeal will bring relief to millions of Americans who were not receiving their full Social Security benefits for decades.

According to the latest Social Security notice, roughly 3.2 million people who received a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security were previously impacted.

In addition to recipients impacted by the WEP and GPO, many employees will see a higher monthly payout:

• Public employees who worked for government agencies that did not collect Social Security taxes.
• Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).
• Workers covered by foreign Social Security systems.

Impacted individuals will receive higher monthly benefits moving forward, as well as retroactive payments for missed benefits dating back to January 2024.

As previously stated, many of those affected are teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees, but the Social Security Administration notes that not everyone in these professions will see an increase — just those who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security. 

In fact, 72% of local and state public employees are covered by Social Security and pay Social Security taxes, according to the Social Security Administration. They are not affected by WEP or GPO.

If you are eligible for an increase, there will be two distribution phases.

The Social Security Administration began issuing one-time back payments on February 25, 2025, retroactively increasing benefit coverage back to January 2024 (when the WEP and GPO no longer applied).

Significant retroactive payments have already been doled out. By March 4, 2025, the SSA had already paid out more than $7.5 billion to over 1.1 million recipients for an average per-person retroactive payment of $6,710. The remainder is expected to be sent out by the end of March.

For regular, highly monthly payments, most beneficiaries will see their first higher check in April 2025.

How much your benefits will increase depends. The exact amount is based on the type of benefits you receive, along with many other factors, such as the amount of a person's pension.

Here's what we do know so far: The average increase is expected to be around $360 a month for roughly 3.2 million eligible recipients. Some recipients may even see an increase of $1,000 or more per month, says the Social Security Administration.

For the most part, eligible recipients do not need to take any action to receive their increased future benefits or retroactive benefits.

Just in case, however, you can verify that your mailing address and direct deposit details are up to date. You can do so by logging into your My Social Security account or calling the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

If you have never applied for Social Security benefits due to WEP or GPO ineligibility, you may also need to file a new application.

If your Medicare premiums were previously deducted from your WEP, GPO, or other pension, they will now be deducted from your Social Security check instead.

For those using Medicare Easy Pay or online bill payments to cover premiums, you may need to cancel those payments after SSA increases your monthly benefits. Online bill payments can be canceled or adjusted online or by calling 1-800-633-4227.

The Social Security Fairness Act will be a lifeline for millions of struggling retirees who were previously denied their full benefits. With higher monthly checks starting in April and sizable retroactive payouts, many Americans will finally have a little bit of financial breathing room.

Beyond Social Security benefits and pensions, there are many other ways to supplement your Social Security and stretch your retirement savings further. In the meantime, stay informed. Check your SSA account for announcements and look for post mail and email about any updates, making sure to check your spam folder.

And now may be a great time to check in with a financial planner to see how to manage the increase in monthly payments or see if you or your spouse qualifies.