Bill Callahan, a retired school teacher from Middlebury, Connecticut, has been waiting for four decades for a legislative change that would stop the reduction of his Social Security benefits due to his pension. Now, despite the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, he along with around three million other public sector retirees are being told they might have to wait another year or more to see any financial benefits.
The Social Security Fairness Act repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions have decreased Social Security payments for certain retirees who also receive a pension. This affects a wide range of public workers, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and public school teachers, almost impacting 3 million people across the country.
“Since the effective date of the Social Security Fairness Act is set retroactively to January 2024, SSA has to adjust both past and future benefits,” the agency explained. “While SSA is currently assisting some of the affected beneficiaries, given SSA’s present budget constraints, the agency anticipates it might take over a year to amend benefits and distribute all retroactive payments.”
A disheartened 67-year-old Callahan remarked, “In the end, it’s just a temporary solution for three million people. Congress will likely come up with another ill-thought-out fix, and a different group will face new challenges.”
Potential Increase in Monthly Benefits?
The specific increase in monthly payments each affected worker could receive varies based on the type of Social Security benefit they are under and the size of their pension, according to the SSA.
“Increases will be minimal for some, while others could see their benefits go up by over $1,000 a month,” the SSA reported.
Reasons for the Delay in Additional Payments
The SSA cited financial and staffing shortages as the main reasons for the delay.
“The ability of SSA to implement the Act promptly and without impacting regular customer service depends on adequate funding,” the agency stated. “The Act didn’t allocate funds for its implementation. This new, unfunded mandate is difficult to manage, especially with SSA’s ongoing staff shortages and a hiring freeze that has been in place since November 2024 and is expected to continue.”
SSA is tasked with recalculating both past and future benefits for approximately three million individuals.
Callahan added, “They now face a complex accounting issue. Consider this: a year of retroactive payments, two additional years of cost-of-living adjustments to figure out, spousal complications, and more.”
What’s Next?
Close to 3 million Americans must continue to wait and will keep receiving the same Social Security benefits as if the law had never been enacted.
Moreover, the other approximately 68 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits will also experience delays and longer wait times as the SSA prioritizes this substantial new workload,” the agency noted.
Enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act
The Social Security Fairness Act, aimed at eliminating WEP and GPO that were established back in 1983, was signed into law by former President Joe Biden on January 5.
- The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces Social Security for individuals receiving “non-covered” pension income, typically from public sector jobs that did not contribute to Social Security taxes. This reduction can be substantial—up to half of the pension amount.
- The Government Pension Offset (GPO) lessens survivor or spousal benefits for those with non-covered pensions, affecting fewer people but potentially reducing Social Security benefits by two-thirds of the pension amount. If two-thirds of your government pension exceeds your Social Security benefit, your benefit could be reduced to zero.
These rules were designed to prevent overpayments to individuals who held non-covered pension jobs, as policy experts suggest. Such individuals might appear as lower earners in the Social Security system.
Since Social Security replaces a higher percentage of earnings for lower-paid workers compared to higher-paid ones, those with substantial government salaries could unfairly benefit from the system designed to aid long-term low-income workers, proponents of the rules argued.
The bipartisan nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) has expressed concerns that the Act would cost $196 billion over the next decade, potentially hastening Social Security’s insolvency by about six months and leading to increased automatic benefit reductions when they do occur.

Passionate about analyzing economic markets, Alice M. Carter joined THE NORTHERN FORUM with a mission: to make financial concepts accessible to everyone. With over 10 years of experience in economic journalism, she specializes in global economic trends and US financial policies. She firmly believes that a better understanding of the economy is the key to a more informed future.