By Attorney Wendy Weston
In January, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law. This new law allows retired public servants such as teachers, firefighters, police officers and others who have paid into Social Security for years to collect on those benefits blocked previously by legislation that has now been repealed. The Social Security Administration has determined their rollout of these benefits and we are spreading the word.
The Social Security Administration plans to have the retroactive lumpsum payments for 2024 to present distributed by the end of March. They also say to expect your newly adjusted Social Security income starting in April. We are getting the word out because the mailed notices explaining your new benefit are expected two to three weeks after the payments are received.
If you have previously been partially or completely prevented from collecting on Social Security as a government employee or because your employers did not also pay into Social Security you can review your status online at www.ssa.gpc/apply or schedule an appointment with their local office. You can also verify your direct deposit information on that site as well.
The Social Security Administration does request you hold off calling with specific questions until after April when you will have likely received all the information they are preparing which should address your concerns. You may receive two notifications, one that the legislation that previously blocked your benefits has been removed, followed by a notice outlining your new benefit amounts. We will continue to monitor new developments on this rollout of benefits.
Social Security continues to post updates so you can follow along with the process:
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html
