The Social Security Fairness Act, designed to help protect Social Security benefits for about three million Americans including employees of Texas community colleges, passed the U.S. House and Senate and was signed into law earlier this month. 

The act eliminates two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. These policies once barred employees with a public pension from collecting their full benefits and reduced benefits for those workers’ surviving family members. 

Under the new Social Security Fairness Act, ACC retirees, survivors, and individuals with disabilities can expect to receive the full Social Security benefits they earned.

Increased payments will be backdated to January 2024. Because of staff shortages and a hiring freeze, the Social Security Administration says it could take “a year or more” for recipients to begin receiving the higher benefits.