Are You One of 3.2 Million Americans Who Are Benefiting From the Social Security Fairness Act?

A sweeping change to the nation's retirement system has quietly increased monthly income for millions of Americans in recent months.

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden in January 2025, overhauls how benefits are calculated for certain public sector workers, as well as their spouses and survivors. If you or a family member receive a pension that wasn't previously covered by Social Security, this new law could result in a significant boost to your benefits and possibly even a retroactive payment.

Could you be among those seeing more money each month?

What the Social Security Fairness Act does -- and why it was passed

The Social Security Fairness Act eliminated two long-standing rules: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These measures were originally intended to prevent so-called "double dipping," in which individuals could receive full retirement payouts from both Social Security and a government pension based on work not covered by Social Security taxes.

In practice, however, the WEP and GPO often reduced payments for public-sector employees who had paid into Social Security through other jobs, as well as for spouses and survivors who would otherwise qualify for a share of their partner's income. By repealing these provisions, the Fairness Act seeks to simplify the system and align Social Security benefits more closely with a person's full earnings record.

Supporters of the law say it restores fairness and consistency across the retirement system -- correcting long-standing disparities between public- and private-sector workers.

Image source: Getty Images.

Who qualifies -- and how much they could gain

Roughly 3.2 million Americans were expected to gain from the repeal, including retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public-sector employees who once held positions not covered by Social Security. The law also applies to spouses and survivors whose payments were reduced or withheld under the previous system.

Under the old rule, the WEP reduced Social Security payments for individuals who received a pension from non-covered employment but also paid into Social Security through other jobs. The GPO, meanwhile, cut or eliminated spousal and survivor benefits for retirees with government pensions of their own.

With both rules now repealed, eligible recipients are seeing larger monthly checks, with the amount varying based on each person's work history, earnings, and pension level. Increases in the average Social Security check can range from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000 per month. And some retirees may also receive retroactive lump-sum payments for withheld benefits dating back to January 2024.

According to an April press release from the Social Security Administration (SSA), more than $14.8 billion in retroactive payments was paid earlier this year to about 2.2 million people affected by the WEP and GPO. At that time, nearly 1 million other Americans were still awaiting adjustments to their benefits.

The fiscal and administrative challenges ahead

Although the law offers long-awaited relief to millions of retirees, it also presents new challenges for the SSA and raises concerns about the program's long-term financial health.

From an operational standpoint, the SSA must review and recalculate millions of benefits records, a huge undertaking that will take time to complete. As a result, not all eligible recipients will see immediate adjustments, and some may be asked to provide extra documentation before payments are issued.

Financially, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the Social Security Fairness Act could add nearly $200 billion to the national debt over the next decade. Critics caution that such costs could exacerbate existing shortfalls in the Social Security Trust Fund unless offset by future policy changes.

Even so, the Fairness Act stands as one of the most significant retirement reforms in recent history. For millions of Americans -- particularly members in households with employment across both the public and private sectors -- it offers long-overdue fairness, greater transparency, and a stronger foundation for financial security in retirement.

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.