Bigger Social Security payments going out this month: Do you qualify?

(NewsNation) — Social Security payments for certain recipients could be larger this week thanks to a law that was recently put into place.

The change comes after the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act was passed and signed into law in the final weeks of Biden’s term as president. Prior to the law's passing, some workers who received a public sector pension in retirement were restricted from receiving full benefits. This was due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

However, those two measures have now been rescinded. As a result, about 3.2 million people who worked as police officers, firefighters, teachers, and in other public service roles will now get larger Social Security payments.

What is the Social Security Fairness Act?

According to the Social Security Fairness Act, those whose benefits were affected by the WEP and GPO provisions will see their monthly benefits increase.

Because the change is effective dating back to January 2024, eligible recipients also get retroactively paid for the extra money they were missing out on for about the past year. The back-paid amount comes in a single lump-sum payout.

Those lump payments started going out in February, and beneficiaries who were affected by this change will start seeing their new monthly benefit amounts this month.

When will I receive the new monthly payment?

Your new monthly benefits should start with your payment in April, according to the Social Security Administration. However, there could be a bit of a wait.

"We are expediting these cases now. We are releasing retroactive benefits and sending new monthly benefits amounts as we process each case, with the expectation that all beneficiary records will be updated by early November 2025," Social Security Administration officials said.

Social Security officials have asked Americans to wait until April to ask about any retroactive payments. As of March 28, the agency had processed about 75% of the adjustments, or about 2.3 million, according to Fox Business.

April Social Security payment schedule

For those who want to monitor their payments closely in April or want to budget, the regular Social Security retirement benefit schedule for 2025 and 2026 can be found online. The SSA staggers retirement payments by birth date, so the payments will be:

• Wednesday, April 9: Birth dates between the 1st and 10th
• Wednesday, April 16: Birth dates between the 11th and 20th
• Wednesday, April 23: Birth dates between the 21st and 31st

SSI beneficiaries only received one payment in April but will receive two in May: on May 1 and May 30.

The SSA recommends that beneficiaries who don’t receive a payment on their due date contact their bank or financial institution first to see if there was a delay. If not, the SSA recommends calling 1-800-772-1213 or contacting a local Social Security office.

Who qualifies for the bigger payments?

The people impacted include some teachers, officers, firefighters, federal workers who were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and people who were covered by another country’s social security system, the Social Security Administration says.

That doesn’t mean every former teacher or cop will suddenly get more money, however.

“Most state and local public employees – about 72 percent – work in Social Security-covered employment where they pay Social Security taxes and are not affected by WEP or GPO,” the Administration explains. “Those individuals will not receive a benefit increase due to the new law.”

Anyone who qualifies under the change should have received a notice in the mail explaining the new benefits, but some may have received the retroactive payment earlier this year before the letter arrived.

How much bigger are the new payments?

It depends on the person, but there’s a pretty big range of possible outcomes. The Social Security Administration says some may see their monthly benefits increase “very little” while others could get $1,000 more.

The maximum Social Security benefit payable to any recipient is $5,108, according to the Administration. That amount would be for someone who retired at age 70 in 2025.