On February 25, the Social Security Administration (SSA) updated its information on the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act, legislation FMA helped pass to repeal both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Specifically, SSA announced the agency would begin to pay retroactive benefits that week, and former FMA National Secretary Dick Oppedisano confirmed he has received a payment.

"If a beneficiary is due retroactive benefits as a result of the Act, they will receive a one-time retroactive payment, deposited into the bank account SSA has on file, by the end of March. This retroactive payment will cover the increase in their benefit amount back to January 2024, the month when WEP and GPO no longer apply," the agency states. SSA cautions impacted beneficiaries to wait until April 2025 before contacting SSA with concerns about the status of their retroactive payments, as the process will proceed incrementally.

Finally, on its website SSA indicates “What action you need to take depends on your situation and on what type of benefits you qualify for,” based on:

• If you never applied for retirement, spouse's, or surviving spouse's benefits because of WEP or GPO;
• If you are not sure whether you ever applied for retirement, spouse's or surviving spouse's benefits; or,
• If you are entitled to retired or disabled workers' benefits, and your benefits are currently being reduced by WEP; OR if you are entitled to spouse's or surviving spouse's benefits, and your benefits are currently being reduced or eliminated by GPO

SSA encourages you to verify the mailing address and direct deposit information the agency has on file for you to help process benefits changes. Visit your account online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount to review and edit.

To read more about implementation of GPO/WEP repeal, click here.