Some Americans may get new Social Security lump sum payment

Senators are urging the Social Security Administration to revisit retroactive lump-sum payments after the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset; some beneficiaries received six months of retroactive payments instead of a full year.

Several senators have asked the Social Security Administration (SSA) to reconsider how it applied retroactive lump-sum payments following the Social Security Fairness Act. The law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which raised benefits for many pensioned workers. Some beneficiaries received only six months of retroactive payments rather than a full year. The discrepancy has drawn attention because it affects a sizable group of retirees. Known details: - Senators Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn and John Fetterman wrote to the SSA requesting a change to its retroactive payment policy. - Under current SSA rules, some pension workers received six months of retroactive payments instead of the year that many interpreted the law to allow. - The Social Security Fairness Act was expected to provide retroactive payments for benefits paid from January 2024 on, but implementation differed for some beneficiaries. - About 2.8 million people are reported to be affected, many of whom worked as teachers, firefighters or police officers, or are surviving spouses of those workers. - Experts and commentators cited in reporting raised questions about how any expanded lump-sum payments would be funded and noted potential tax implications for recipients. Summary: If the SSA adopts the senators' requested change, some retirees could receive larger retroactive lump-sum payments covering a full year rather than six months. Undetermined at this time.