Social Security Mistake Could Be Worth $5,500 for Spouses

Tens of thousands of Americans may be missing out on thousands of dollars in Social Security payments as U.S. Senators say the Social Security Administration (SSA) has not offered compensation to those affected by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) for the full amount of time they are entitled to.

A bipartisan group, of three Republican Senators and one Democrat Senator, is urging the SSA to review cases affected by the GPO and grant full retroactive payments dating back to January 2024, as permitted under the recently passed Social Security Fairness Act.

Newsweek has contacted the SSA for comment.

Why It Matters

Under the Social Security Fairness Act, which took effect in January 2025, spousal and survivor beneficiaries affected by the GPO are entitled to retroactive payments dating back to the beginning of 2024.

However, due to outdated guidance or errors in previous advice, some eligible individuals are receiving only six months of back pay, the Senators say. For spousal beneficiaries eligible for up to $931 a month, the average according to SSA data, that shortfall could total more than $5,500 per person.

In Louisiana, 73,000 individuals have already received a collective $566 million in retroactive payments. Nationwide, over 2.2 million recipients have received more than $14.6 billion, according to press releases from Senators Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins.

What To Know

The action taken by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), and John Fetterman (D-PA) follows complaints from constituents claiming SSA representatives previously discouraged them from applying for spousal benefits.

Many of those same retirees are now being told they were eligible all along, but only for six months of retroactive benefits, not the full year they are entitled under the new law.

The dispute centers around SSA's application of protective filing rules. According to agency policy, if an individual previously made an inquiry about benefits and was wrongly advised not to file, their application may still be considered "open."

That would allow for retroactive payments to be calculated from the original inquiry date, rather than the most recent contact.

Despite this, some SSA employees continue to apply a six-month limit when processing retroactive claims, even for those who were discouraged from applying previously.

The Social Security Fairness Act was designed to repeal both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the GPO, which reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for many public workers and their spouses.

What People Are Saying

Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, John Cornyn, and John Fetterman said in a joint letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek: "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. 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."

Senator Bill Cassidy told Newsweek: "Police officers, teachers, nurses, and other state and local public servants across Louisiana were punished for serving their communities."

He added: "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."

Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School for Social Research, New York, told Newsweek: "If a spouse works for an employer that has Social Security benefits, the spouse is eligible for the spousal benefit no matter how much money the spouse has. But if the spouse has a government pension from a system that didn't pay into Social Security, the weird rule reduced the spouse's pension. Many, many low-income women were caught under this unfair treatment."

She added: "This is a new bill and the Social Security system needed to process it to follow the law, but the Trump administration has drastically cut service to Social Security beneficiaries. Closing office and laying off thousands of workers. The system was already stressed."

What Happens Next

The SSA is under pressure to update its implementation policies in accordance with the Social Security Fairness Act and clarify guidance to field offices. Lawmakers are expecting the agency to conduct a review and respond to concerns about inconsistent application of retroactivity rules.

Update 4/11/25, 03:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Teresa Ghilarducci.