Although he has under a month to go before he’s out of office, President Joe Biden is still making moves. Just this week, he signed a bill that expanded Social Security benefits.
“We’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses, and other public and… employees and their spouses and survivors,” said Biden when he signed the Social Security Fairness Act this week, according to remarks released Tuesday. He added that he’s the first president to expand Social Security benefits in two decades.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who authored the legislation with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was present when he signed it. She said in a press release that the bipartisan bill passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate by votes of 327-75 and 76-20, respectively. A press release from Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) said that a previous vote for the bill was blocked in the U.S. House.
“This changed after a vote was forced by a discharge petition, a tool that Representatives can use to bypass gridlock,” it said.
All people in the U.S. who have worked at least 10 years and paid into Social Security are entitled to some form of Social Security benefits. With the legislation now signed into law, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) have both been repealed.
These penalties reduced Social Security benefits for firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public service workers, the International Association of Firefighters explained in a statement. Per the Social Security Administration, those were reductions on Social Security for people entitled to public pensions.
Forbes reported that the WEP rule impacted people who switched jobs from one where they were contributing to Social Security to one where they contributed only to a pension and not Social Security. It said the GPO was specific to surviving spouses receiving benefits after the death of the original recipient. Citing the Congressional Research Service, Forbes said that as of the end of 2023, over 2 million Social Security beneficiaries had their retirement incomes reduced due to the two programs.
“The Social Security Administration is evaluating how to implement the Act. We will provide more information as soon as available,” said the SSA in a Monday update on the new legislation.
According to the International Association of Firefighters, some people will see their benefits increase by $587. Biden said the estimated average increase will be around $360 per month.
“That’s a big deal in middle-class households like the one I grew up in and many of you did – and million – for millions of Americans going forward,” said the president.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a Tuesday press release that the legislation is retroactive for Social Security payments starting in January 2024. So, eligible recipients who previously only received partial benefits will get a full payment retroactive to a year ago. Biden said more than 2.5 million Americans will receive a lump-sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in the benefits they would have received last year.
“Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity,” he said. “That’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system crafted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly 90 years ago.”