The signing of the Social Security Fairness Act on January 5, 2025, represents a significant change to Social Security policies, impacting millions of individuals.
The law repeals two provisions—the Windfall Elimination Provision WEP and the Government Pension Offset GPO—which had previously reduced Social Security benefits for people receiving pensions from noncovered employment, such as certain teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal employees.
This new law could result in benefit increases for more than 3.2 million individuals, with some seeing adjustments of over $1,000 per month.
These increases will apply to future checks and retroactive payments from January 2024, though it could take over a year for the Social Security Administration SSA to process all adjustments.
The change was celebrated by many who have fought for years to repeal the provisions, including former teachers like Roger Boudreau, who estimates losing around $5,000 annually due to penalties. Carl Jordan, a retired firefighter, also expressed relief, as the new law will help him pay off his mortgage and make home improvements.
An especially impactful moment was the involvement of Eliseo Jimenez, an 18-year-old from Texas, who lobbied for the changes on behalf of his grandmother, a former teacher, by walking from Texas to Washington, D.C. His persistence brought attention to the issue and helped rally support for the bill.
While there’s a delay in processing the new benefits, the signing of the law is seen as a major victory for those who had been advocating for a long time.