The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law earlier this year, providing higher payments to certain public sector workers, impacting 3 million people.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) said it has processed about nine out of every 10 cases in connection with a law that would prompt higher payments as well as retroactive payments to around 3 million recipients, according to an update.
A graph released on the SSA website shows that 91 percent of total Social Security Fairness Act claims were processed between Feb. 25 and May 30. The website was last updated on June 1, according to page metadata reviewed by The Epoch Times.
The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law in January by former President Joe Biden and eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that had brought down Social Security benefits for certain workers who were in the public sector and had also received pensions that were not covered under Social Security.
The Congressional Research Service estimated that in December 2023, there were 745,679 people, about 1 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries, who had their benefits reduced by the Government Pension Offset. About 2.1 million people, or about 3 percent of all beneficiaries, were affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also estimated in September 2024 that eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision would boost monthly payments to the affected beneficiaries by an average of $360 by December 2025.
Ending the Government Pension Offset would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 recipients getting benefits based on living spouses, according to the CBO. The increase would be an average of $1,190 for 390,000 surviving spouses getting a widow or widower benefit.
hose amounts would increase over time with Social Security’s regular cost-of-living adjustments.
The change is to payments from January 2024 and beyond, meaning the SSA would owe back-dated payments. The measure, as passed by Congress, says the Social Security commissioner “shall adjust primary insurance amounts to the extent necessary to take into account” changes in the law.
