Millions of Americans are receiving long-awaited benefit boosts, but routine Social Security services are now being delayed, agency workers warn.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has successfully processed 91% of cases under the Social Security Fairness Act, bringing long-overdue benefit increases and retroactive payments to nearly 2.5 million public servants.
However, as the agency races to finalize the remaining 200,000 complex claims, some routine services — like updating direct deposit information and correcting benefit errors — are being delayed, according to frontline employees.
What the Fairness Act Changes
Signed into law in January 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), two long-criticized policies that previously reduced benefits for individuals who received public pensions from work that didn’t pay into Social Security.
The law primarily impacts retirees such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, federal workers under the Civil Service Retirement System, and some individuals with foreign pensions.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, affected individuals may now see monthly Social Security increases between $360 and $1,190, along with lump-sum payments going back to January 2024.
Manual Processing Causing Backlogs
SSA says it used automation to handle the majority of cases — issuing over $15.1 billion in retroactive payments to more than 2.3 million people. But around 200,000 cases are too complex for automation and must be reviewed manually by staff. These include cases involving deceased beneficiaries, multiple benefit types, or overpayment disputes.
Employees at SSA processing centers told USA TODAY that this surge in priority work is coming at a cost. For at least the next month, many have been instructed to deprioritize non-urgent issues, such as:
- Changing bank account information
- Resolving Medicare billing problems
- Correcting overpayments
- Adjusting monthly payment amounts
This shift has already led to longer call wait times and delayed appointments at Social Security field offices.
“We’re being yelled at by callers all day because we’re told to focus only on Fairness Act cases,” said one East Coast SSA employee, speaking anonymously out of concern for retaliation. “Other important work just isn’t getting done right now.”
Commissioner’s Summer Deadline
New SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano has vowed to complete all Fairness Act-related payments “while the weather is warm.” That unofficial deadline translates to July 1, according to internal staff communications.
To meet this goal, some employees are working weekend overtime, with a few permitted to work from home. Still, staff say the rapid rollout has been disorderly — many claim the new priorities were relayed verbally, not through official emails or memos.
Despite the disruption, the agency insists that no other services will be left behind.
“This project is very important to leadership,” said White House spokesperson Liz Huston. “It’s critical the agency executes it swiftly, efficiently, and without letting anything else fall through the cracks.”
Who’s Still Waiting?
The SSA says the remaining unprocessed claims mostly belong to individuals with unique benefit histories or mixed earnings records. Some newly eligible individuals must still submit formal applications, and the timing of those applications could affect the amount of retroactive pay.
Also among the pending cases: survivors of deceased beneficiaries and people with pending overpayment adjustments. According to experts, these manual reviews are especially time-consuming.
As the SSA approaches completion, former SSA executive David A. Weaver recommends that Congress consider a formal audit of the process to review administrative costs and ensure that core agency functions weren’t compromised during the rollout.