A major update came with the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act in January, benefiting nearly
3 million individuals. This law boosts monthly payments for those who receive non-Social Security
pensions such as teachers, firefighters, and certain federal workers who were previously penalized under
the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.
Retroactive lump sum payments began in January 2024, and monthly increases range from minor
adjustments to over $1,000.
To date, over $14.8 billion in back payments have been distributed to 2.2 million individuals. While many
updates have been automated, some cases may take over a year to process manually.