Millions of Retirees Are Owed Social Security Money - Are You One of Them?

Millions of public workers received a notice this year and saw something unexpected. The Social Security Administration (SSA) informed them that their Social Security checks were going up and a lump-sum payment was on the way. If you spent your career as a teacher, firefighter, police officer, or government worker and watched your Social Security get slashed by confusing rules, this is the change you've been waiting for.

A newer law, called the Social Security Fairness Act, wipes out two long-hated penalties: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Those rules used to cut or erase senior benefits for people who also had a pension from a job that didn't pay into Social Security. Now they're gone, and billions of dollars are being paid out.

Here's what the law actually does, who gets money, who doesn't, and how much people are seeing.

What the Social Security Fairness Act does

The Social Security Fairness Act became law on January 5, 2025, and repeals both WEP and GPO for benefits payable starting January 2024.

WEP used to reduce retirement or disability benefits if you had a pension from "non-covered" work. This is a job where you didn't pay Social Security tax. GPO reduced or wiped out spousal and survivor benefits for people with those same kinds of pensions.

Together, those two rules cut benefits for more than 2.8 million people. Many of those were teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal workers under old pension systems.

Under the new law, December 2023 is the last month WEP and GPO apply. Any benefit payable for January 2024 and later must be calculated as if those penalties never existed. That means higher monthly checks going forward, and catch-up money for past qualifying months where your benefit was reduced.

Who qualifies for money and who doesn't

The new law does not help every public employee. To benefit, you must have a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security taxes.

These may include:

• State and local teachers, firefighters, and police officers
• Federal workers covered by the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
• Some workers with foreign Social Security pensions

If your pension comes from a job where you paid Social Security tax, you will not see a change from this law. Roughly 72% of state and local public employees fall into this group.

You may qualify if:

• You already receive a reduced retirement or disability benefit because of WEP
• You get a reduced or zero spousal or survivor benefit because of GPO
• You have enough Social Security credits or a spouse or ex-spouse with enough credits, but you never applied because WEP or GPO made the benefit too small to bother with

The law covers benefits on your own record and benefits as a spouse or surviving spouse. It does not change your actual pension. It only changes the Social Security piece that was being cut because of the pension.

How much money people are getting

The amount depends on your situation, but the numbers can be big. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates show that eliminating WEP alone raises monthly benefits by around $360 on average for affected workers. The GPO repeal adds even more for spouses and widows. The CBO estimates an average monthly increase of $700 for spouses and $1,190 for widows.

On top of higher monthly checks, there are lump-sum back payments. Because the repeal applies to benefits payable from January 2024 onward, people who were already collecting in 2024 are owed money for every month their benefit was underpaid.

By early March 2025, more than 1.1 million people had already received over $7.5 billion in retroactive payments, with an average lump sum of $6,710. As implementation continued, the totals grew. By early July 2025, more than 3.1 million payments had gone out, totalling about $17 billion, five months ahead of schedule.

While some people get hundreds of dollars more per month, others see a more modest increase. The size of your non-covered pension, how much GPO or WEP used to take away, and whether you're a worker, a spouse, or a surviving spouse are all key factors in how much you'll receive.

When payments arrived and what you need to do

For people who were already receiving benefits reduced by WEP or GPO, the process was mostly automatic. In 2025, SSA recalculated records and sent a one-time lump-sum payment for benefits owed back to January 2024 and increased monthly payments going out in April 2025.

If you were affected by WEP or GPO and think you might be entitled to an increased benefit or a back-dated lump sum but haven't received any money or a notice, you need to take action. Check your "my Social Security" account to see the status of your benefits and contact SSA for help if you think there's a problem.

If you never applied for retirement, spousal, or survivor benefits because WEP or GPO made the amount tiny or zero, you most likely need to file a new application. Retroactive payment rules still apply, though, so back pay could be limited to six months in many retirement and survivor cases. So don't wait, as the longer you delay, the more money you're losing.

Medicare, taxes, and scams

Big changes in your Social Security benefit can create side effects. Two areas to watch closely are Medicare premiums and scams.

If WEP or GPO left you with little or no Social Security, you may have been paying Medicare Part B premiums directly. Now that your benefit is larger, those premiums may start coming out of your monthly check instead. So be aware that you may need to stop automatic payments to avoid double-paying.

Some people are also seeing Medicare premiums pulled from both a federal pension and Social Security. But the SSA has said overpayments will be refunded. You should still keep an eye on your statements, though.

Scams are another big risk. Remember that the SSA will never ask you to pay a fee to speed up a Fairness Act payment. It won't text, email, or message you on social media, either. If someone calls or messages promising extra money if you "sign up" or "verify" with a code, hang up, check your "my Social Security" account, and call SSA if you have any questions or concerns.

A higher Social Security check can also mean more of your benefit becomes taxable. Plus, it can push you over the threshold and mean you'll face higher Medicare income-related surcharges in future years.

Bottom line

If you have a pension from work that didn't pay into your Social Security and your benefits were cut by WEP or GPO, you're exactly who this law was written for. You should already have received your lump-sum back pay and have been seeing your increased benefit amount since April.

If you haven't and think you're entitled to it, check with SSA. If you never bothered to apply because WEP and GPO made the benefit tiny or non-existent, you should reconsider claiming now. With back pay potentially limited to six months, act fast to put extra cash in your pocket sooner rather than later.

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