Retirees who worked in the public sector can rest assured that there are getting relief due to the new Social Security policy. Beginning in April, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is updating monthly benefits to more than approximately 3 million retirees and their families. The Social Security Fairness Act repels two controversial provisions that have for long reduced Social Security benefits for public workers.
Former President Joe Biden signed this law in January which signifies a major shift for retirees who experienced slashed benefits. April will be the first month that retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and postal workers will now benefit under the new law. April will be the month that these Social Security beneficiaries will experience recalculated payments that will hit their bank accounts as decent retroactive payments.
Changes due to the Social Security Fairness Act
The main change, under the Social Security Fairness Act, is that the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) has been eliminated. These pension rules were in place to avoid “double dipping” where citizens would receive full Social Security benefits and benefits from other work pensions.
Critics, however, were of the opinion that WEP and GPO disproportionately hurt public-sector workers who spent part of their careers paying into Social Security through second jobs or spouses’ benefits. Individuals who paid into Social Security for decades had their benefits reduced or blocked due to public pensions.
Retirees will be glad to see boosted payments in April that have been recalculated by the SSA to reflect beneficiaries full earning history. Spouses and surviving spouses impacted by GPO who previously experienced eliminated or reduced Social Security benefits based on their partner’s earnings will also benefit due to the Social Security Fairness Act.
Who will receive boosted payments until the end of April?
While boosted payments are expected to be received up until the end of April, the beneficiaries who will receive these monthly payments are:
- Retired public-sector employees whose jobs were not initially covered by Social Security.
- Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).
- Americans receiving foreign government pensions triggered by WEP or GPO reductions.
While most of the payments will be paid out by April, but the SSA is still processing the remaining cases manually. By early April, however, the SSA completed 81% of the required payment adjustments, benefiting about 2.3 million recipients with retroactive pay. Eligible citizens should check if they will be getting boosted Social Security checks this April.
More about the increases this April
Substantial average monthly increases of about $360 were paid to recipients, however some recipients received as much as $1,000 more per month, depending on their prior work history and pension details.
Retroactive payments for the period of January 2024 to March 2025 have been deposited into recipients’ accounts. The SSA issued approximately $7.5 billion in retroactive payments, with an approximate backup pay of $6,710 per person.
Receiving April Payments
Beneficiaries receiving updated monthly payments due to the Social Security Fairness Act would have started receiving these payments in April. Social Security payments are distributed based on your birthdate and as such payment will be received as follows:
- April 3: For those receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or for those who started receiving benefits before May 1997.
- April 9: For recipients born between the 1st and 10th of the month.
- April 16: For those born between the 11th and 20th.
- April 23: For anyone born after the 20th.
Those beneficiaries who have not yet seen updates to retroactive payments need to check their “My Social Security” account online or contact the SSA directly. Delays can be expected by some recipients due to high number of payments being distributed this April. The new payments hitting bank accounts this April signifies a new chapter for beneficiaries who have long been penalized by archaic Social Security rules.
