Millions of Social Security beneficiaries are seeing unexpected checks amounting to at least $6,000. Many retirees who spoke to NBC 5 said they’re not sure why they received the payment. However, the Social Security Administration is now explaining why people are getting the payments. Why are Social Security beneficiaries getting surprise checks? According to NBC 5, the $6,000 payment is part of the Social Security Act, which took effect this year. The SSA issued the payment after eliminating two rules known as the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset — which reduced benefits for some retirees who also get a pension income. “These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a ‘non-covered pension’) because they did not pay Social Security taxes,” the SSA stated, per NBC 5. Who qualifies for the Social Security Act payments? The Social...