Those who need Social Security support from the Social Security Administration (SSA) may be in for a longer wait than normal.
That’s because, as of now, SSA offices are being told to focus on making updates for a recent piece of legislation that has gone into effect. While this new policy will help many beneficiaries, the implementation could be a rocky process.
For others who need to visit field offices or contact the SSA for help, they may find their issues are harder to resolve.
SSA Wait Times Could Rise Due to the Social Security Fairness Act
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, aims to increase benefits for over 3.2 million public service workers, including teachers, firefighters, and police officers.
Readers of the Council for Retirement Security will be familiar with this new policy. The Act repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which had previously reduced benefits for those receiving government pensions.
The Social Security Administration has expedited over $15 billion in retroactive payments to more than 2.3 million individuals using automation. However, approximately 900,000 complex cases require manual processing. SSA employees have been directed to prioritize these cases. This is raising concerns about potential delays in routine services. Such services include updating direct deposit information and addressing Medicaid billing issues.
The agency aims to resolve all Fairness Act claims by July 1. However, staffing challenges and increased workloads may impact this timeline. SSA officials assure that efforts are being made to execute these tasks efficiently without neglecting other essential services. But not everyone is confident in these claims.
SSA problems have been a long-running issue for years. Many seniors have faced multi-day waits on the phone and stood in line for hours at offices. Tell us about your experiences with the SSA!
We aim to protect the Social Security benefits seniors have fairly earned. Do you support our cause? Then sign our petition here!
