President Joe Biden on Jan. 5 signed a bill into law boosting Social Security benefits for roughly 2.5 million public sector workers.
The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, which passed in the House in November and the Senate in December, repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.
One such provision, the Government Pension Offset, or GPO, in certain instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses and widows who also receive government pensions of their own. The other provision, the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.
The Congressional Research Service estimated in a November report that about 2.5 million Social Security beneficiaries, or almost 4% of all beneficiaries, had benefits reduced by the WEP, the GPO, or both. Nearly 13% of those affected were subject to both provisions.
“The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity — that’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system crafted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly 90 years ago,” Biden said during a signing ceremony at the White House. “Social Security is the bedrock of financial security for retirees and survivors, and for millions of Americans with disabilities.”
The Congressional Budget Office in September estimated that eliminating the WEP would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by $360, on average, for affected beneficiaries, and eliminating the GPO would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 spouses and by an average of $1,190 for 390,000 surviving spouses.
Proponents of the bill, which include unions representing teachers, postal workers and firefighters, said the new legislation will fix a wrong and improve lives.
“After 40 years of being treated like second-class citizens, a wrong has finally been righted, and millions of retirees can afford to retire with dignity — and with the Social Security benefits they earned and paid into,” said Edward Kelly, International Association of Fire Fighters general president, in a statement.
