The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that millions of retired workers will receive an additional increase in their Social Security benefits under proposed bipartisan legislation. Bipartisan support has allowed a bill to move to the next stage of the legislative process, which would expand Social Security benefits for about three million beneficiaries.
According to recent reports, Congress successfully made progress on Thursday with the Social Security Fairness Act through a request for approval, allowing the bill to move from committee to the floor for consideration without a committee report. The Social Security Fairness Act would remove barriers preventing retirees who receive some government pensions or other benefits from receiving full Social Security payments.
Bipartisan Support to Expand Social Security Benefits
Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Garrett Graves filed a petition that gathered 218 signatures in total, with 47 from Republicans and 171 from Democrats. This indicates that Graves and Spanberger now have the ability to request the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, to schedule a vote in the plenary session after seven legislative days.
In a joint statement, Spanberger and Graves said: “Today is an important milestone made possible by tireless advocates who made it clear that Congress must act. Since 2015, this is the first time a measure has been introduced using a discharge petition.”
Changes in Some Regulations
The Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces Social Security benefits for people who qualify for benefits but also have pension income from public positions for which they did not pay Social Security payroll taxes, even if they made other contributions to the program. Spanberger’s office estimates that the WEP affects about two million Social Security beneficiaries.
Nearly 800,000 retirees are affected by the GPO, a rule that reduces payments to spouses of former federal, state, and local government workers who did not contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes. Recipients should note that, if enacted at the beginning of fiscal year 2025, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it would cost the Social Security Administration just under $196 billion over ten years.
Additionally, according to Spanberger and Graves, many retired public officials have been waiting for more than 40 years for their elected representatives to address this fundamental issue of fairness, from Virginia to Louisiana and every other state in the U.S. These retirees deserve the Social Security benefits they have earned through their hard work, as well as the elimination of the GPO and WEP.
How Does the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) Affect Social Security Benefits?
The way Social Security determines your retirement or disability payments may be affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Your Social Security payments may be reduced if your employer did not withhold Social Security taxes from your pay. This can happen whether you receive retirement or disability benefits. A government agency or a foreign employer could be examples of such employers.
Factors that could affect your Social Security benefits include receiving a retirement or disability pension from an employer that did not pay Social Security taxes, or receiving benefits from previous jobs where Social Security taxes were paid. The WEP may apply if you turned 62 after 1985 or became disabled after 1985.