Starting from April 2025, a group of retired public workers in the United States will see higher Social Security payments. This change is due to the Social Security Fairness Act, passed in January during the Biden administration and put into action after Donald Trump took office. The law mainly helps public employees who were earlier affected by two rules—WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset)—that reduced their Social Security benefits unfairly.
Who Will Get Higher Social Security Payments?
The increased payments are meant for retired public workers like teachers, police officers, and firefighters. These people were previously receiving lower benefits because of WEP and GPO. Now, thanks to the new law, they will get the correct amount they deserve based on their work and contributions.
This change also includes a retroactive payment starting from January 2024, the month when the law officially began. Some people have already received these one-time payments starting from the end of February 2025. However, the full new monthly amount will only start showing from April 2025, which covers the benefit for March, since Social Security payments are made one month after the earned benefit.
Payment Dates Based on Birthday
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will send out the new payments on different dates depending on when your birthday falls:
If you were born between the 1st and 10th, you’ll receive your payment on April 9.
For those born between the 11th and 20th, payment will come on April 16.
If your birthday is from the 21st to 31st, the payment date is April 23.
SSA also shared that some cases are complex and need to be handled manually, which might cause delays. They expect to finish all updates by November 2025. As of March 28, around 75% of the updates were already completed, affecting about 2.3 million retirees.
What About People Who Are Not Getting the Increase?
According to SSA, 72% of state and local government employees won’t get these new benefits. That’s because their current jobs already contribute to Social Security, so they were never affected by the WEP or GPO rules. The changes mainly help people who receive both public pensions and Social Security, and whose benefits were unfairly cut in the past.
Why Some Payments Are Delayed
SSA is asking people not to call or inquire about delays in payments until April, as the process is being done in phases. While many updates are made using automated systems, some cases—like people with changes in marriage status or custody updates—need to be done manually. These take more time, as workers must carefully check each case, including job history and contribution records.
They also mentioned that the full update will only be complete once the systems are upgraded and staff are trained. Since the SSA deals with about 65 million beneficiaries every month, large-scale changes take time to roll out.
Why This Change Matters
Removing WEP and GPO has been a long-time demand from retiree groups and unions. They argued that these rules unfairly cut down Social Security benefits for those who worked in public service jobs. This reform finally corrects that issue and gives them the full value of their contributions.
Also see:- Social Security Payment of $1,700 Available Today for Some Retirees
