It ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a "non-covered pension").

Retired Middlebury, Connecticut, school teacher Bill Callahan waited 40 years for Congress to pass a bill to eliminate the reduction in Social Security benefits he receives because he also has a pension.

Retirees looking forward to increased benefits because of the Social Security Fairness Act may now have to wait more than one year due to reduced funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA).