Key Takeaways
- Beneficiaries of the new Social Security Fairness Act may have to wait more than one year to receive their increased Social Security benefits.
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) is pointing to a lack of funding slowing the benefit adjustment and the disbursement of funds to more than a year.
- Retirees due benefits should confirm their SSA information is current and subscribe for online SSA updates.
Retirees looking forward to increased benefits because of the Social Security Fairness Act may now have to wait more than one year due to reduced funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The new law repealed two old provisions, boosting benefits for over 2 million retirees including some teachers, firefighters, and police officers, along with some federal employees and others. It retroactively goes into effect in January 2024, and those eligible can expect to receive adjusted benefits for the entirety of 2024 and going forward.
However, the SSA now anticipates taking over one year to adjust future benefits and pay out retroactive benefits.
“SSA’s ability to implement the law promptly and without negatively affecting day-to-day customer service relies on funding. The Act did not provide money to implement the law,” the SSA said in an update on Friday.
And the agency was unable to commit to a timeframe for when benefits will be adjusted. “Though SSA is helping some affected beneficiaries now, under SSA’s current budget, SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits,” according to the SSA website.
Getting More Information May Not Be That Easy
For those with questions, the SSA advises people to refer to and subscribe to the Social Security Fairness Act webpage for information and updates. The SSA discourages people from calling or visiting an office in-person unless necessary, as there may be delays and longer wait times—even for those not affected by the new law.
“Helping people with this new and unfunded workload is made more difficult by SSA’s ongoing staffing shortages, including operating under a hiring freeze since November 2024. This hiring freeze is likely to continue,” states the SSA.
While people affected by the new law wait, the SSA recommends they review the mailing address and direct deposit information they have on file. One expert suggests that people plan how they want to use their retroactive benefit, such as by using it to pay down debt or build up an emergency fund.
And for those who have never previously applied, but think they could be eligible for spousal or surviving spouses’ benefits because of the repeal of the old Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, it’s best to apply sooner rather than later.