Change is coming for millions of Americans who will now see their Social Security benefits increase after President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on Sunday.

The bill, which abolishes the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support. The circumstances of the WEP and GPO have lowered Social Security checks for public service workers for decades.

Nearly 3 million public sector workers, including police officers, firefighters, and teachers, had their benefits slashed because they collected pensions that Social Security didn’t cover.

The GPO has negatively targeted the spouses of pension workers whose earnings have been severely impacted by the death of their spouse. The change is to payments from January 2024 and beyond, meaning the Social Security Administration would owe back-dated payments. 

No specifics are available on whether those affected will need to take action.

The agency will provide more information on its website at ssa.gov.