Millions of people are noticing a surprise payment in the $6,000 range in their bank account.
The money is from the Social Security Administration, and NBC 5 Responds has heard from retirees who say they’ve received the extra cash but don’t know why.
The answer: The $6,000-ish payments are thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act, which went into effect earlier this year.
The Act eliminated two prior rules that reduced social security benefits for certain retirees who also receive pension income. The rules were the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
“These provisions,” according to the SSA, “reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a ‘non-covered pension’) because they did not pay Social Security taxes.”
The average payment is $6,710.
Here’s how to know if you qualify and how soon you could see the money.
The Social Security Administration says “…only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see benefit increases. Most state and local public employees – about 72 percent – work in Social Security-covered employment where they pay Social Security taxes and are not affected by WEP or GPO. Those individuals will not receive a benefit increase due to the new law.”
This law increases Social Security benefits for certain types of workers, including:
- teachers, firefighters and police officers in many states;
- federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System
- people whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system.
You may have questions about whether you qualify for the money, and if so, when you will see it deposited into your account.
According to the SSA, it started paying the retroactive benefits on Feb. 25, 2025. Some beneficiaries are seeing the payments show up now.
The SSA said, “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.”
It also says that anyone who is eligible for the benefit will get a letter in the mail, explaining the payment, though NBC 5 Responds has heard from viewers who received the deposits before any letter showed up in their mailbox.
