Retirees See Increased Social Security Payments Starting May 2025 Under New Law

It is true that the Social Security Fairness Act makes benefits better for tens of thousands of retired people across the land.

It’s good news for the millions of people whose Social Security benefits were cut because of the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset. These fines are no longer in place, and many retirees are already getting higher Social Security benefits.

Getting rid of the Social Security Equity Act (WEP) and the Social Security Protection Act (GPO) makes payments bigger through the Social Security Equity Act.

People who got a pension from non-covered government work, like teachers, firemen, or police officers, and also got Social Security payments had their payments cut by these two rules.

But as of January 2024 benefits, which were paid out in February of last year, these cuts no longer apply. This means that retirees who were hit by the WEP or GPO can now get full benefits like everyone else.

The rules of the Social Security Fairness Act and the Social Security Protection Act were last used in December 2023. If your benefits were cut before that date, they will go up again with your January 2024 check, even if you haven’t done anything else.

If you are owed money, the first payment you will get back will be for January 2024, which was sent in February. The law was passed, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) has already handled 85% of the more than 182,000 new applications it has received.

Are you one of the retirees who get the most money?

The following is a list of all the people who will get the most money from the Social Security Fairness Act:

People who are retired and whose Social Security checks were cut because of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
Workers with disabilities who will be touched by the WEP
People whose benefits were cut or cancelled because of the Government Pension Offset (GPO)
People whose spouses’ Social Security was cut or refused because of the GPO
People who were retired and put off applying because they knew the WEP or GPO would cut their benefits

People in these groups have already started getting extra benefits or are next in queue to get them.

The good news is that you don’t have to do anything if your mailing address and bank information are up to date with the SSA and you are already getting Social Security payments after the WEP or GPO.

You can call 1-800-772-1213 or log in to your “My Social Security” account to make sure its right.

If you never sent in an application for benefits because the WEP or GPO would have cut them:

To start getting them, you need to apply now. You can apply online at ssa.gov/apply. If you want to apply for survivor benefits, you need to call the SSA because you can’t find that form online.

When you apply for benefits and how much you get will depend on when you apply, so don’t wait.