Millions of vulnerable Americans such as retirees or disabled individuals are dependent on monthly Social Security checks in order to make ends meet. One of the final acts of the previous president, Joe Biden, was signing the Social Security Fairness Act into effect. By coming into effect, this act would mean that millions of retirees could now look forward to an increase in their monthly benefits. Here is what to know about the new Social Security Fairness Act.
The Social Security Fairness Act
The new Social Security Fairness Act will allow for the federal retirement benefits of around 3.2 million American seniors to be increased. Eligible beneficiaries could see their benefit amounts being increased by as much as $1,100 monthly. As such, eligible recipients are likely to be awaiting their increased benefit quite eagerly and as of April 25, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has confirmed that a substantial portion of these new claims adjustments has already been processed. Around 2.3 million adjustments have already been processed, leaving approximately 900,000 more Americans still in wait for their adjustment benefit check.
At present, around 80% of seniors eligible for the Social Security Fairness Act have already received their benefit adjustment and the government has been able to streamline the adjustment process due to the automated process used to calculate the new amounts. The remainder of cases are taking slightly longer to process since some senior’s cases are more complicated than others and thus cannot be worked out through automation.
This means that government employees will have to process these cases manually since the increases are more complex and this will naturally take a longer time to reach completion. As such, eligible seniors who have not yet received their increase should keep an eye out for notices from the SSA. These notices will explain when the adjustment has been processed and what the new benefit amount will be.
Additionally, some seniors may also qualify for a once off, retroactive payment dated back to when the act came into effect which is January 2024. If any individual claimed benefits during this period, they will be entitled to a lump sum that will make up for the difference of what they were owed and what they had been paid, all thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act.
These lump sums and adjusted benefit checks are being sent out by the SSA on a rolling basis. As such, the agency has shared that it hopes to have updated all beneficiaries’ adjustments and lump sums as soon as early November.
How to know if the new act applies to you
Unfortunately, the vast majority of seniors will not be seeing any changes to their benefit amounts since the new Fairness Act only applies to those who previously had money withheld from their monthly benefits under the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or Government Pension Offset (GPO). Retirees who were recipients of pensions from employees that did not pay into Social Security applied to the WEP or GPO. Amongst the affected are police officers, teachers, and firefighters, however, many beneficiaries in these occupations might not qualify for the increase.
If a recipient is unsure as to whether or not they qualify for the Fairness Act, they can contact the SSA directly. However, likely as a result of recent cutbacks within the agency, the recipient should brace themselves for lengthy wait times when calling in to the SSA, as well as when scheduling an in-person appointment at a field office.
The best way to streamline the process of finding out if you are impacted by the Social Security Fairness Act is to ensure that your correct address and direct deposit details are updated with the agency. This can be done via the SSA website on the recipient’s my Social Security account.