There’s good news for millions of retirees this April—Social Security payments are getting a notable increase, and it’s not just the usual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
While the 2.5% COLA adjustment rolled out in January, a second round of payment increases began in April, thanks to a new law that specifically helps public sector workers who were previously shortchanged.
The increase comes as part of the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden back in January. This act addresses two controversial rules that have long reduced Social Security benefits for some retirees: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
These provisions mostly affected public employees who had jobs not covered by Social Security, like teachers, police officers, and firefighters. With the new changes, affected retirees are finally getting the full benefits they’ve earned.
How Are the New Payments Rolling Out?
The payment increases officially started with the April benefit cycle. People began receiving their updated checks as early as April 9, depending on their birth dates:
- April 9 for those born between the 1st and 10th
- April 16 for birthdays between the 11th and 20th
- April 23 for those born from the 21st to the 31st
The boost varies case by case, but some beneficiaries are seeing increases of up to $1,000 a month. That’s a significant change for those who’ve been waiting years for fair treatment.
SSA Using Automation to Speed Things Up
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been working to fast-track these changes. In a recent statement, they shared that most straightforward cases have been handled using automation.
For more complex cases, SSA staff are working manually to make sure everything is accurate and up-to-date.
“We have been able to expedite payments using automation,” the SSA explained. “For the many complex cases that cannot be processed automatically, additional time is required to manually update records and pay both retroactive and new benefits amounts.”
Full Rollout Expected by November 2025
While many retirees have already received their higher payments, not everyone will see the change right away. The SSA expects to finish processing all eligible cases by November 2025.
Until then, they’re asking people not to contact them about payment status until the end of April, as they continue to process cases in batches.
Retroactive Payments Back to January
The law doesn’t just mean higher payments going forward—it also includes one-time retroactive payments starting from January 2025, the first month the new rules went into effect.
The SSA began issuing these lump-sum payments in late February, and some recipients have received over $6,000 in back pay.
75% of Adjustments Already Done
As of March 28, the SSA had already completed about 75% of the required changes. That’s around 2.3 million cases processed under the Social Security Fairness Act—a clear sign of the massive impact this law is having and how fast the agency is trying to move.
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