Social Security checks will be bigger in April for some retirees following the implementation of a recently enacted law. Americans who receive a public-sector pension in retirement were previously restricted from obtaining full Social Security benefits because of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which curbed benefits to certain public employees. Under the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January by then-President Joe Biden, beneficiaries affected by WEP and GPO will see their monthly benefit amounts increased.
The law also includes a one-time retroactive payment starting from January 2024, the first month these provisions were lifted. Lump-sum payments started going out in the last week of February. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), beneficiaries will receive their new monthly benefit amount in April 2025.
Social Security benefits are typically paid a month behind, so these payments align with the March benefit cycle.
Social Security payments to increase
Payments will be distributed on April 9 for recipients born between the 1st and 10th of their birth month, on April 16 for those born from the 11th to the 20th, and on April 23 for those born from the 21st to the 31st.
SSA wrote on its website, “We have been able to expedite payments using automation. 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.”
“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,” SSA added. SSA has asked beneficiaries to wait until April to inquire about their status, aiming to process cases incrementally throughout March.
As of March 28, SSA has processed about 75% of adjustments—approximately 2.3 million cases—under the Social Security Fairness Act. It’s important to note that most state and local government employees, around 72%, work in Social Security-covered employment where they pay Social Security taxes and thus aren’t affected by WEP or GPO policies. These workers will not receive a benefit increase due to the new law.