There is some good news for retirees and their wives who work for the government.
More than 3 million people who get Social Security will get more money by the end of this month. This is because of the Social Security Fairness Act, which President Biden signed into law in January.
Some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states will get more monthly Social Security benefits because of this law. So will government workers who are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System and people whose work was covered by a foreign social security system.
Most of the time, these are retired workers who get an income for work that wasn’t covered by Social Security. They may have also had part-time or other jobs during their lives.
For example, a teacher who had a part-time job over the summer and paid into Social Security during that time can get payments from Social Security. Being able to get teacher salaries could have kept her from getting all the Social Security retirement benefits she had worked hard for.
Getting Social Security is an earned benefit, which means you have to pay payroll taxes while you are working. The amount of benefits you get is based on how much you made. This is not a new change to the cost of living index (COLA). As of January 1, 2025, the COLA went into force. The SSA says that the 2.5% raise added just under $50 to the average monthly benefit of about $1,900.
Plus, a lot of retirees will get a one-time payment that covers the rise in their benefits from January 2024 to the present. You could call it “back pay.” By the end of March, the money will be sent directly to your bank account.
The monthly benefit increase could be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than a thousand dollars, based on things like the person’s pension and the type of Social Security benefit they receive.
A letter from Social Security will explain the change to anyone whose monthly benefit is higher or who will get a payment for the past.
It’s now against the law to use the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These rules cut back on or got rid of the Social Security payments of people who get a pension for work that wasn’t covered by Social Security in addition to the income they paid taxes on.
“The WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) do make sense,” author and retirement expert Mark Miller told Yahoo Finance. “But it only made sense to policy experts and actuaries.” “But for many workers who were affected by these rules, the big cuts to benefits came as a huge surprise. They were angry because they seemed so unfair.” That’s why there were so many attempts to change or get rid of the rules, and finally Congress did something.
What the Social Security Administration says is that about 72% of state and local government workers have jobs that are covered by Social Security and are not touched by WEP or GPO. Those people will not be getting more money from their benefits.
Through your online “my Social Security” account, you can see how your benefit is going or change your address or direct deposit details.
Then again, that could become a problem for a lot of retirees soon.
Crackdown on customer service
The Social Security Administration said this week that anyone who wants to get new benefits or check their current benefits must first prove who they are online.
The policy that let people apply for benefits entirely over a toll-free phone line had been in place for decades. This gets rid of that policy.
This is a big problem for people who don’t have access to the internet, especially those who live in rural places. And it makes top lawyers very angry.
The move by the Social Security Administration to make people go to field offices in person for services they had asked for over the phone will cause more problems and longer wait times for basic customer service needs, says Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer for AARP.
She doesn’t like how people are being pushed to go to an office for a meeting instead of calling from home.
If people from distant areas have to go to an office, they might have to miss work and drive for hours just to fill out paperwork. “Any delay in Social Security that this change causes can really hurt people’s finances,” she said.
Setting up a face-to-face meeting already takes more than a month.
Make sure you bring your ID with you when you get one. A valid document must have your name, an identifying number (like your date of birth or age), and ideally a recent photo. It must also be current (not expired). You can use your US passport, driver’s license, or a state-issued ID card that isn’t a driver’s license.
It might be hard to find an office. Because of an audit of the agency by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), about 47 local Social Security offices are likely to close.
Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement, “The new process would make it more difficult for seniors and people with disabilities to get the benefits they have earned.”
Kerry Hannon writes a column for Yahoo Finance as a senior writer. She has written 14 books, such as “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work” and “Never Too Old to Get Rich.” She helps people plan their careers and their retirement. Bluesky: Follow her.
