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By Aliss Higham
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Millions of Social Security recipients impacted by the Social Security Fairness Act will no longer have to wait up to a year for their benefits to increase, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced.
Why It Matters
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Both of these reduced Social Security benefits for millions of workers, including teachers, firefighters, and police officers, and some federal employees.
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Signing the act into law, former President Joe Biden said it would permanently boost Social Security benefits for more than 2.8 million recipients, and that retroactive payments backdated to January 2024 would also be issued. But these groups were told that it could take up to a year for backdated payments and renewed benefits amounts to be administered.
What To Know
The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pensions from public-sector jobs—such as those held by state and federal employees—that did not require Social Security payroll tax contributions. This reduction applied even if they contributed to Social Security through other employment and qualified for benefits.
The GPO reduced spousal or survivor benefits for retired federal, state, and local government workers who did not pay into Social Security funds through their payroll taxes.
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Now, the SSA has confirmed that impacted groups, consisting of some 3.2 million people, will receive a one-time retroactive payment by the end of March. Higher benefits—which former President Biden said would be an average $360 a month—will be administered from April onward.
The SSA has said that, "depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person's pension, the change in payment amount will vary from person to person."
The federal agency added that impacted recipients "will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment."
Why Were Payments Delayed?
On its website, the SSA said it was "finalizing its plan to implement the act while limiting negative effects on our regular workloads and services to the public."
However, the implementation of the Act is being hampered by a hiring freeze and "ongoing staff shortages," the SSA said. The administration added that it expected it "could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits."
What People Are Saying
Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a press release issued on February 25: "Social Security's aggressive schedule to start issuing retroactive payments in February and increase monthly benefit payments beginning in April supports President Trump's priority to implement the Social Security Fairness Act as quickly as possible.
"The agency's original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible."
John Hatton, staff vice president of policy and programs at National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, told Federal News Network: "SSA's announcement that they will begin paying benefits to those impacted by WEP and GPO this week is music to our ears. This is much quicker than previously forecast, and will have an immediate, positive impact on those who have waiting decades for this relief."
What Happens Next
With payments expected to arriving over the next two months, the SSA has urged beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment since these payments will be processed incrementally into March.
As for increased monthly payments, new amounts will be distributed starting in April's payment, so beneficiaries should wait until after receiving it before contacting Social Security if they have any queries about their monthly benefit amount.
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