President Joe Biden, on Sunday, signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act, which would increase benefits for millions of American retirees, including firefighters, police officers, and teachers-this despite his emphasis on its significance for middle-class households at the White House before signing the bill.
“Americans who have worked hard all their life to make an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity,” Biden said. Furthermore, the law will extend a monthly increment of more than $360 to over 2.5 million Social Security recipients alongside lump-sum payments to compensate for amounts unpaid in 2024.
The law repeals two long-standing policies, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), both of which reduced or eliminated Social Security payments for public-sector employees with pensions, as well as for surviving spouses and family members, to draw from benefits.
“Biden becomes the first president to expand Social Security benefits for over two decades,” said a White House official. Passed by the House in November and given a green light by the Senate on December 21, the bill will come into law just weeks before the end of Biden’s presidency.
A long-awaited victory for public pension retirees
Efforts to seek repeal of WEP and GPO provisions have a long history, going back decades. Senate hearings on this were held as early as 2003. Although popular in bipartisan arms, the Social Security Fairness Act was again subjected to rejecting flaks by some Republicans on its costs. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill will increase the federal deficit by $195 billion in ten years.
Prior-provided benefits will be retroactive to December 2023, meaning those people who will be eligible to receive payment will now receive back payments for the benefits earlier denied to them. The CBO predicts that abolishing the WEP will raise average monthly payments by about $360 by 2025 for more than 2.5 million retired workers. It will increase payments by about $700 monthly for 380,000 beneficiaries with living spouses and by $1,190 per month for 390,000 surviving spouses.
General President of IAFF, Edward Kelly, praised the legislation as a restoration of trust. “Congress broke a promise when enacting the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset,” said Kelly. “That promise is restored today, and retired firefighters and emergency medical workers will receive the full Social Security benefits they earned and paid into.”
Challenges ahead
The Social Security Fairness Act, however, comes with some difficulty for retirees. Those who oppose the act include Martha Shedden, appointed president of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts. She has voiced objections to the stress the Fairness Act would exert on the trust funds of Social Security and similar complaints about the logistical and administrative burden on the Social Security Administration (SSA) related to the changes.
The agency did, however, respond, stating that it was evaluating exactly how to proceed with the expanded benefits. Beneficiaries don’t need to do anything to get their money, but they’ll want to double-check that their address and direct deposit information are accurate. Most people can do this via their “my Social Security” online account.
Biden later explained the implications of the act by saying: “The existing law denied access to full Social Security benefits earned by millions of Americans. That inequity ends today.”
It is a heavy testimony to nearly three decades of advocacy–but more than that, it is the first step at addressing the financial inequalities of public-sector employees. Currently millions of Americans get to retire with dignity and economic security, considering what they deserve.
