In a major legislative victory, the U.S. Senate has passed the Social Security Fairness Act to improve Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million public service workers, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters. The bipartisan bill corrects longtime policies that have limited the benefits of those who have dedicated their careers to public service.
Overview of the Social Security Fairness Act
The Social Security Fairness Act would erase two provisions that have reduced for decades the Social Security benefits of workers with pensions from jobs not covered under Social Security taxes. Those provisions are known, respectively, as the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. It affects an estimated 2 million beneficiaries, while about 800,000 retirees and their families currently feel the painful sting of the latter.
The bill removes these provisions so the legislation allows public sector workers who have also paid into Social Security, covered jobs to draw their full benefits without penalties. The change is expected to raise affected individuals’ benefits by hundreds of dollars a month; one estimate projects an average boost of about $360 more per month for those affected by the WEP by December 2025.
Bipartisan support and legislative journey
The bill cleared the Senate 76-20, a vote that reflected unusual bipartisan support for the measure after initially also clearing a test vote a week earlier. All Democrats present in the Senate voted for it, along with 27 Republicans, a rare show of unity in a polarized era. The House had previously passed the measure on a vote of 327-75 in November.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed the passage as a “monumental victory” for public service workers who have been robbed of their benefits for years. Supporters of the bill call it a correction of an injustice that has been in place since the provisions first took effect more than 50 years ago.
Financial implications and concerns
Of course, while the bill marked a victory for public servants, it did not come free of controversy. The bill, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, will increase federal deficits by about $195 billion over the course of a decade. Critics say this furthers the pressure on an already financially stressed Social Security Trust Fund, estimated to go bankrupt in 2035.
Opponents of the bill said that funding mechanisms would have to be changed before increasing benefits would not hasten financial difficulties for the program. Although current reductions are unfair, there needs to be a more viable approach to make sure that long-term viability for all beneficiaries is taken care of.
Impact on public service workers
Eliminating WEP and GPO will be a big boom to public service workers who have contributed to both their pensions and Social Security in other employment. Many of those workers have dedicated their lives to serving their communities and, quite frankly, are due the fairness under the laws of Social Security.
These include people who are retirees from being school teachers or first responders that have been penalized in the current system but worked and paid into the system through other employment. The new law takes the acknowledgment of them, thereby ensuring that their benefits could be collected on equal levels with their work history.
What’s next and Presidential signature
The Social Security Fairness Act has passed Congress and is now merely awaiting the signature of President Joe Biden and with strong bipartisan support behind it, Biden is likely soon to sign the measure.
Changes will be effective for all benefits paid beginning with December 2024, when signed into law. This allows time for changes at the Social Security Administration to provide for increased benefit calculations and to assure that eligible individuals receive their full entitlements.
Read more: Good news for Social Security retirees – Still Senate President Schumer vows to pass improvements before Trump arrives in January
Read more: Social Security Calculator: How much Social Security will I get if I make $100,000 a year?
