Officials from the Social Security Administration say that more than a million people in the U.S. have received back payments totalling $7.5 billion.
A news release from the administration on Tuesday confirmed that the 1.1 million people who were affected by a change in the law have received average payments of $6,710 for the past.
An official from the Trump administration said in a statement, “President (Donald) Trump made it very clear that he wanted the Social Security Fairness Act to be put into place as soon as possible.” “We took on that challenge head-on and are proud to be doing what the American people want.”
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
When former President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law in January, it got rid of rules that limited retirement benefits for some workers. These people included some federal employees, first responders like police and firefighters, and teachers who get pensions from public-sector jobs.
What provisions were eliminated because of the Social Security Fairness Act?
The cancellation of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset led to the Social Security Administration making payments backwards.
For the more than 3.2 million workers who get non-covered pensions (work that is not covered by social security), these rules took away or limited their social security benefits because they were not paying Social Security taxes.
How many people have been affected by the retroactive  Social Security payments?
According to the agency, more than 1.1 million people have been impacted by the law change, and the average retroactive payment has been $6,710.
The agency will revise monthly benefit payments beginning in April for people whose benefits increase due to the passing of the Social Security Fairness Act, according to the news release.
