The Social Security Administration, or the SSA, is a program run by the American government aimed at providing an income to retirees or individuals who are no longer able to earn one for themselves for a variety of reasons.
The benefit amount a recipient of Social Security receives each month is determined in relation to the income they had earned and the taxes they had paid whilst they were still employed. Benefits for public sector workers, however, were reduced due to the government pension that they would have already been receiving. As of December 2023, however, a new act titled the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law and would mean that these workers would now be able to receive their complete benefits.
The Social Security Fairness Act
With the Social Security Fairness Act coming into effect, it has been confirmed that thousands of retired beneficiaries around the country will now be able to enjoy an increase to their monthly benefits. This cohort of retirees had previously lost out on a portion of their monthly benefits as a result of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Since these penalties were eliminated due to the Social Security Fairness Act being signed into law, many of the impacted beneficiaries have already seen an increase to their monthly checks.
Teachers, firefighters, and police officers were amongst the parties impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These public sector workers had their Social Security benefits reduced because they were also receiving a pension for non-covered government employment.
The benefits for January 2024 — which had been paid in February 2024 — and the benefits going forward from then, no longer have the reductions applied to them. As a result, the impacted parties will now be able to receive full benefit amounts like the rest of the beneficiaries.
The stipulations of the Social Security Fairness Act and the Social Security Protection Act had last been applied in December 2023. This means that as of January 2024, any beneficiary who had previously been receiving reduced benefits, would now see an increase in their monthly payment. The change in benefit amounts will have been applied automatically, even if the beneficiary did not take any action.
Additionally, the SSA will be making back payments to the impacted parties, dating back to January 2024. The SSA has received 182,000 new applications since the passing of the new law and at present, around 85% of these have been processed.
Which retirees receive the most benefits?
The following retirees are currently able to receive the most benefits under the new Social Security Fairness Act:
- Retired employees with Social Security checks that had been reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
- Workers with living with disabilities impacted by the WEP
- Spouses whose benefits were reduced or eliminated under the Government Pension Offset (GPO)
- Surviving spouses whose Social Security had been cut or denied because of the GPO
- Retirees who delayed their application because they knew the WEP or GPO would reduce their benefits
Beneficiaries who fall under any of the aforementioned categories will have already began to see an increase to their monthly benefits. The SSA is still in the process of adjusting the impacted claims, however, and as such, some beneficiaries will have to wait a little while longer before their benefit amount is increased.
Those receiving Social Security benefits who had been affected by either the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset do not need to take any sort of action to have their benefit claims adjusted. If the beneficiary’s personal information, mailing address, and banking details are up to date, the claim will be automatically adjusted by the agency.
Additionally, those who had never applied for benefits because of fear that the WEP or GPO would reduce it, they should apply for benefits now so as to begin receiving them.