Those who will benefit from the repeal of a Social Security penalty on government retirees like teachers and police and their spouses may have to wait more than a year to receive adjustments to their monthly payments and back pay, the agency says on its website.

Former Republican Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves’ Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law by President Biden on Jan. 5, but agency officials must now develop a plan to implement it.

“Though SSA is helping some affected beneficiaries now, under SSA’s current budget, SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits,” the agency said in a Q&A on its website.

The new law repeals the 1980s-era Windfall Elimination Penalty and Government Pension Offset that prevented as many as 3 million government retirees nationwide who earned pensions from those careers from collecting their full Social Security benefits earned while working outside of government.

About 94,000 Louisianans will benefit.

The agency blamed the delay on staff shortages and Congress for not provided funding to implement the law.

“SSA’s ability to implement the law in a timely manner and without negatively affecting day-to-day customer service relies on funding. The Act did not provide money to implement the law. The law requires SSA to adjust benefits for over 3 million people. Since the law’s effective date is retroactive, SSA must adjust people’s past benefits as well as future benefits.

“Helping people with this new and unfunded workload is made more difficult by SSA’s ongoing staffing shortages, including operating under a hiring freeze since November 2024. This hiring freeze is likely to continue. All SSA customers, including those not affected by the Act, will face delays and increased wait times as SSA prioritizes this new workload.”

Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy helped push the bill through the Senate for final passage.

“Congress delivered a huge win for those who were harmed by WEP and GPO but nevertheless kept pushing,” Cassidy said in a statement to USA Today Network. “Getting the Social Security Fairness Act

through Congress was a big priority, and now making sure the Social Security Administration implements it quickly is just as important.”

The agency said it’s receiving thousands of calls each day about the new law. “These calls, as well as visitors and appointments in local offices, will continue to increase over the coming weeks and months,” it said.

The average monthly increase in benefits is $360, but many recipients could see monthly raises of $1,000 or more. Since the act is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, many people will eventually see a lump sum for back payments as well as a monthly raise.

Those who previously filed for benefits need only to verify their current mailing address and direct deposit information if it has recently changed online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount to sign in or create an account.

Those government retirees who haven’t previously filed for benefits can do so at ssa.gov/apply or schedule an appointment.