Social Security May Owe Some Americans More Payments: Here’s Who’s Impacted

Tens of thousands of Americans may be owed more in Social Security benefits than they have received so far due to how the Social Security Administration (SSA) is interpreting retroactivity rules under the Social Security Fairness Act.

A bipartisan group of United States senators is urging the agency to revise its policy and grant the full scope of back payments allowed by law.

Why It Matters

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, eliminated both the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

The new law was designed to restore benefits for an estimated 3.2 million Americans—primarily retirees from public-sector jobs such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters—whose Social Security payments had been curtailed despite paying into the system through other work.

The law also included a provision for retroactive payments to January 2024, allowing eligible beneficiaries to recover funds lost due to the repealed provisions.

What To Know

Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and John Cornyn of Texas sent a letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek calling for the agency to review its retroactivity determinations.

At issue is the treatment of spousal and survivor benefits affected by the now-repealed GPO, which had previously reduced or eliminated Social Security eligibility for many public service workers and their spouses.

The senators wrote that multiple constituents reported being told by SSA employees in past years that they were ineligible for spousal benefits due to the GPO, and thus never applied.

Under the new law, which retroactively took effect in January 2024, those same individuals now qualify. But the SSA is reportedly granting them only six months of retroactive payments from their most recent contact, rather than from their initial inquiries.

“These spouses, including widows and widowers, have shared with [us] that when they contacted the Social Security Administration years ago inquiring into spousal benefits, they were told by SSA employees that their spousal benefits would be reduced to $0 due to the Government Pension Offset; and therefore, there was no need to file an application for spousal benefits” the senators wrote in the letter.

“Now, these same spouses are being told to file a claim…yet are only being granted a maximum of six months retroactivity from their most recent date of contact with the SSA,” the letter states.

Under existing SSA policy, protective filing rules may allow retroactive benefits from the date a claimant originally inquired if they were misinformed by SSA staff. But some field offices continue to apply a strict six-month limit, even in cases where individuals were previously told they would receive no benefits due to GPO rules.

For many, the difference could amount to more than $5,500, based on the SSA’s average spousal benefit of $931 per month.

What People Are Saying

Senator Bill Cassidy previously told Newsweek: “Police officers, teachers, nurses, and other state and local public servants across Louisiana were punished for serving their communities…I’m grateful to the Trump administration for their quick work. Now, I will make sure they get the benefits they deserve which by law they are now guaranteed.”

Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, John Cornyn, and John Fetterman, in their joint letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek: “We have assisted spouses who have contacted our offices questioning the retroactivity. They have shared that even if they question the retroactivity with the SSA employees during their recent appointment to apply for benefits, the applicants are only granted six-months retroactivity from the most recent contact date.”

Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “Both groups (Republicans and Democrats) are for the repeal of the WEP and GPO which has reduced the benefits for spousal beneficiaries since Reagan in 1983. They understand that impacted constituents are the loudest group of voters and can move the electorate in any direction. My contention remains, we consistently find ways for the system to pay out more money, and very few solutions on how to fund the system moving forward.”

What Happens Next

Lawmakers have asked the SSA to clarify its retroactivity policy, particularly for those who were wrongly advised by SSA staff in earlier years. The senators called on the agency to “grant maximum retroactivity payments to all spouses who were protected on prior applications.”

The SSA has not yet issued a formal response to the letter.

Newsweek reached out to the SSA for comment via email.