The Social Security Fairness Act, which former President Joe Biden signed into law on January 5, 2025, was a historic day for the millions of estimated public servants—among them teachers, firefighters, and police officers—who work in public service. The Act repeals two long-standing provisions—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—which had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for individuals receiving pensions from non-Social Security-covered employment. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has warned that, although the Act provides for increased benefits and retroactive payments, these beneficiaries will have to wait over a year before getting their adjusted payments.
The Social Security Fairness Act: A long-awaited overdue correction
The Act corrects a decades-long injustice that has victimized more than 3.2 million Americans, disproportionately public service workers who paid into both Social Security and non-covered pension systems.
The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for those with non-covered pensions, while the GPO significantly reduced spousal or survivor benefits for recipients of government pensions. Repeal of these provisions would result in an average monthly benefit increase to WEP-affected individuals of $360 and for those affected by the GPO, $700 to $1,190. The Act further provided that the payments were retroactive to December 2023, and that back payments for the year 2024 were available to all beneficiaries. In this regard, SSA has taken the position that these changes are a resource-intensive and complex process.
Implementation challenges
- Shortfalls in funding and staffing: Part of the delay is because no extra funding and staffing were provided for the added workload. The Act did not authorize additional funding and resources for SSA, which struggles with a workforce shortage and faces a hiring freeze, imposed in November 2024. The agency has said that its ability to put the changes in place “relies on funding” – without which it could push timelines for adjustments well past a year.
- Manual processing and case-by-case adjustments: The SSA also announced that much of the work to process the retroactive payments and make future adjustments in benefits is to be done on a case-by-case basis, requiring manual processing – hence further delaying implementation. More than 3 million cases must still be fully developed in its procedures and automated solutions.
- Longer wait times for all beneficiaries: The SSA has warned that the new workload will mean longer wait times for all beneficiaries, including those not directly affected by the Act. Those calling the SSA’s toll-free number are experiencing long hold times, with over 7,000 people every day electing to remain on hold awaiting a live representative. This backlog likely will grow worse in the coming months.
What beneficiaries can do
- Update personal information: SSA asked beneficiaries to make sure their mailing address and direct deposit information are current. This can be done online through My Social Security account. Updating this information will enable SSA to process changes more quickly.
- Avoid unnecessary calls and visits: To lighten the load on SSA’s resources, recipients are asked not to call or visit the local offices if it can be helped. The agency even has a special web page set up for the Social Security Fairness Act, which it uses to post updates and instructions regularly.
Because there is a chance that monthly payments may increase significantly, beneficiaries would like to recalculate financial planning for retirement. The additional income can potentially make earlier retirement an option or any other financial readjustment.
General impact on Social Security
The Act, though beneficial to the public service workers, is raising the alarms about the long-term solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that repealing the WEP and GPO would cost nearly $196 billion over a decade, bringing forward the program’s insolvency by about six months. In the year 2035, the Trust Fund reserves will be depleted. At that time, all beneficiaries could have their benefits reduced by up to 21% if the Trust Funds are exhausted.
