Seniors who received a windfall deposit as a result of the Social Security Fairness Act are now finding that the consequences of that unexpected benefit can be costly, especially in Illinois.
As a reminder, early last year seniors who had been receiving reduced Social Security benefits because they also had public pension benefits suddenly received a boost in their Social Security to a full benefit check – in addition to a large one-time “catch-up” deposit because the legislation was made retroactive to all of 2024.
When the windfall make-up payments arrived in early 2025, they contained at least 12 months’ worth of the differential, and in some cases even more. That, in addition to the full benefit being paid, has tax implications…