Some 3 million Americans may benefit from higher Social Security payments beginning in April.
Why It Matters
In January, two provisions—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—that reduced Social Security benefits for millions of workers were repealed after bipartisan efforts in Congress.
Signing the act into law, former President Joe Biden said it would boost Social Security benefits by an average of $360 a month for more than 2.8 million recipients.
What To Know
Beginning in April, these boosted payments will be made for all relevant recipients, the Social Security Administration confirmed in a news release in February.
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 WEP reduced Social Security benefits for individuals receiving 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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Retroactive Payments
The Social Security Fairness Act also required backdated payments to January 2023 to be made to all recipients. The SSA confirmed that these have already been paid.
If you have not been paid by April, you can contact the SSA to inquire about the status of your payment.
“Social Security is expediting payments using automation and will continue to handle many complex cases that must be done manually, on an individual case-by-case basis,” the SSA said in the news release last month. “Those complex cases will take additional time to update the beneficiary record and pay the correct benefits.”
What People Are Saying
Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, said in a news 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.”
Payment Dates for April 2025
In April, boosted benefit payments are scheduled to be made on the following dates:
- April 3: Payments to those who have been collecting retirement benefits since before May 1997 and to retirees who also collect Supplemental Security Income benefits.
- April 9: Benefits for those born between the 1st and 10th of the month.
- April 16: Benefits for those born between the 11th and 20th.
- April 23: Benefits for those born between the 21st and 30th.
