SELECT Social Security recipients are getting payments worth thousands in their bank accounts in just days.
The high amounts come thanks to the removal of two government provisions that limited benefits certain Americans could receive.
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Those provisions were the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), both implemented in the early 1980s.
WEP and GPO were created to help ensure government workers didn’t get double the benefits from a federal pension and Social Security after they retired.
GPO specifically cut cash from Social Security for any widows or widowers if they already got pensions.
For WEP, funds were lessened for Americans who already got a pension or disability benefits from an employer where Social Security tax wasn’t withheld.
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Even though the provisions were designed to keep things fair, about 3.2 million people were impacted negatively as a result.
Many public servants like firefighters, police officers, and teachers struggled without the full benefits.
Women were also disproportionately affected, as data from the Congressional Research Service showed about 83% of Americans impacted by the provisions over the years were female.
As part of the Social Security Fairness Act 2023, which was recently passed and signed into law, WEP and GPO have been eliminated.
That means many Americans will get retroactive payments that account for months all the way back until January 2024.
While the SSA originally expected to get the bonus funds out several months from now, funds as high as $5,108 are going out this month.
A distribution for some Social Security recipients is only days away on March 19, so long as they were born on dates between 11 and 20.
This follows standard procedure for benefits, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) always distributes the funds based on birth dates on all of the Wednesdays in any given month.
Those with birth dates between one and 10 already got their cash on March 12.
Additionally, recipients with birthdays between the dates 21 and 31 will get their money on March 26.
WHEN SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS ARE MADE
Social Security payments are issued on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month based on the recipient’s birthdate:
- Second Wednesday: For individuals born between the 1st and 10th of the month
- Third Wednesday: For those born between the 11th and 20th
- Fourth Wednesday: For those born between the 21st and 31st
Exact amounts for the distributions with the retroactive bonuses will vary depending on individual situations.
The SSA will also be sending notices to all those who will be getting it.
SSA’S COMMENTS
Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, confirmed the plan was in motion via President Donald Trump’s order.
“Social Security’s aggressive schedule is 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,” Dudek said in a news release.
“The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more will now only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation.”
“The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible,” he continued.
SIGH OF RELIEF
Former educators like Michelle Cosgrove will likely be thrilled at the news of the retroactive payments due to WEP and GPO’s removal, as she was affected by both, per CBS News.
Her benefits were reduced by at least $557 per month.
Cosgrove went back to work as a teacher in California after many years as a paralegal and a stay-at-home mother, which earned her a CalSTRS pension fund.
That meant WEP reductions, and after her husband died from a rare cancer in 2022, GPO also limited financial compensation.
But, not anymore.
The optimal age that Americans can start taking Social Security benefits was also recently revealed by experts.
Financial guru Tony Robbins also issued a stark warning about Social Security recently.
