April will be a favorable month for some retirees, as the Social Security Administration will begin issuing increased payments to specific groups. Due to the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act, millions of Americans who were previously not receiving full benefits due to outdated polices will now receive a one-time lump sum, besides the monthly payments.
In January 2025, the then-president, Joe Biden, signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act, which repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions were controversial for a while since they reduced benefits for more than 3.2 million Americans who were receiving a pension from public sector work that wasn’t paying into Social Security taxes.
Which Group of Retirees Will Receive Higher Social Security Payments in April?
The boost in payments will be received by retirees who worked in public service roles such as firefighters, police officers, teachers, and federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CRS). Historically, these individuals were penalized under WEP and GPO even though they were paying into public pension systems.
The Social Security Administration has assured the affected beneficiaries that they will be receiving higher monthly payments in April, covering all benefits owed from March. Additionally, they will also be entitled to a retroactive lump sum that dates back to January 2024, which is the first month when the two provisions were lifted.
Have Lump Sum Retroactive Payments Started Rolling Out?
The lump sum retroactive payments started being rolled out in late February, and by the end of March, most had already been issued. Approximately 2.3 million individuals had already received their benefits by March 28, according to the SSA data. The agency predicts that by early November 2025, all records will have been recorded. However, complex cases might take longer to solve.
“We have been able to expedite payments using automation,” SSA stated on its website. “For the many complex cases that cannot be processed automatically, additional time is required to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefit amount.”
Lee Dudek, the acting SSA commissioner, emphasized that the agency was aggressively going to resolve all payments. He stated, “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.”
How Much is the Payment Increase?
The increments will vary significantly from individual to individual. While some retirees receive a modest boost, others could receive over $1,000 per month, depending on the pension sizes and the original Social Security benefit calculation.
The SSA clarified that not all public workers would benefit from this change since about 72% of state and local government workers were already in jobs that paid into Social Security taxes and therefore were not affected by WEP and GPO.
When Will Retirees Get These New Payments?
According to the SSA Social Security benefits schedule, here are the dates when the benefits will be released;
- April 9 – For recipients born between the 1st and 10th
- April 16 – For recipients born between the 11th and 20th
- April 23 – For recipients born between the 21st and 31st
Eligible retirees who are scheduled to receive benefits on these dates will receive them on their accounts automatically.
The Effects of the Repeal of WEP and GPO
Although it’s good news for many retirees, the repeal of GPO and WEP will cause $196 billion federal deficit over the next decade, which could hasten the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund by about six months.
Conclusion
The repeal of the WEP and GPO is a win for public servants who were previously being penalized for earning public pensions. This also marks a long-awaited financial justice that comes in form of higher benefits and a lump-sum back pay.