Retirement just got a little boost for many public sector retirees and their spouses.

By the end of this month, more than 3 million Social Security recipients affected by the Social Security Fairness Act that President Biden signed into law in January will see a bump in their benefits.

This law increases monthly Social Security benefits for certain types of workers, including some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states, federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and people whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system.

These are typically retired workers who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security, but also worked part-time or held side jobs during their lives.

A teacher, for example, who worked a part-time summer job and paid into Social Security during that employment is entitled to Social Security benefits. Her access to teacher pensions could have meant she didn’t get all the Social Security retirement benefits she had earned.

Social Security is an earned benefit, which means that to become eligible, you pay the payroll tax during your working years, and the amount you receive in benefits is based on your wage history. This is not a new cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment. The 2025 COLA went into effect in January. That 2.5% increase added a little under $50 to the average monthly benefit of roughly $1,900, according to the SSA.

There will also be a lump sum payment for many retirees that covers the increase in their benefit amount back to January 2024 — back pay, if you will. The sum will be sent through direct deposit by the end of March.

The monthly benefit increase may amount to a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000, depending on a range of factors, including the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person’s pension.

The bigger checks will arrive in April (for their March 2025 benefit).

Anyone whose monthly benefit is raised or who will get a retroactive payment will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the change.

The law ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security in addition to income they paid the tax on.

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