Austin News

On April 9, 2025, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, alongside his Senate colleagues, sent a formal letter to the Social Security Administrator Leland Dudek. The letter addressed an issue with the Social Security Administration's (SSA) policy, urging the SSA to provide maximum retroactive payments to all eligible spouses under the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA). This piece of legislation, backed by Cornyn, aims to reinstate earned Social Security benefits to numerous employees and their spouses by repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. The SSFA includes provisions for retroactive payments starting from January 2024.

The Senators collectively articulated their concerns about the retroactivity of spousal benefits. They noted in their letter: “Over the past few weeks, several constituents have contacted our offices regarding the retroactivity of their spousal benefits under the Social Security Fairness Act. The law provides for retroactivity to the year the bill was introduced, first being applied to the January 2024 payment.”

Further expressing their request, they stated: “We ask SSA to review the agency’s policy and grant maximum retroactivity payments to all spouses who were protected on prior applications and wrongly advised by employees of SSA not to apply for spousal benefits when they first inquired.”

The Senators acknowledged the SSA's adherence to the law and its progress, saying, “We appreciate your swift implementation of the law and SSA’s progress in adjusting more than 2 million records to date. We look forward to continuing to work together on behalf of those who have been affected by this error.”

The letter, spearheaded by Sen. Susan Collins and endorsed by Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D., and John Fetterman, highlighted specific complaints from constituents. According to the text, some spouses were initially informed by SSA that their benefits would be zero due to the Government Pension Offset, leading them not to file applications. Now, these individuals are urged to apply for their spousal benefits but are being restricted to a six-month retroactivity from their most recent SSA contact date. Based on SSA's own policy, GN00204.010A5, claims protected on the worker's application remain open indefinitely, thus allowing an earlier filing date for maximum retroactivity.

The letter concluded with the Senators expressing a desire for further collaboration: “Thank you for taking the time to address this important matter. We appreciate your swift implementation of the law and SSA’s progress in adjusting more than 2 million records to date. We look forward to continuing to work together on behalf of those who have been affected by this error.”