Higher Social Security payments coming for millions of people from bill that Biden signed
President Joe Biden on Sunday signed into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and in other public service jobs.
Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.
The bill rescinds two provisions 바카라 게임 웹사이트 the and the 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that for recipients if they get retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programs from a state or local government.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The bill I'm signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that's the entire purpose of the Social Security system,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Biden said during a signing ceremony in the White House East Room.
바카라 게임 웹사이트This is a big deal,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
Biden was joined by labor leaders, retirement advocates, and Democratic and Republican lawmakers including the legislation's primary sponsors, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins and exiting Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who received a standing ovation from ceremony attendees.
The Congressional Research Service estimated that in December 2023, there were 745,679 people, about 1% of all Social Security beneficiaries, who had their benefits reduced by the Government Pension Offset. About 2.1 million people, or about 3% of all beneficiaries, were affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision.
The estimated in September that eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision would boost monthly payments to the affected beneficiaries by an average of $360 by December 2025. Ending the Government Pension Offset would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 recipients getting benefits based on living spouses, according to the CBO. The increase would be an average of $1,190 for 390,000 or surviving spouses getting a widow or widower benefit.
Those amounts would increase over time with Social Security바카라 게임 웹사이트s regular cost-of-living adjustments.
The change is to payments from January 2024 and beyond, meaning the Social Security Administration would owe back-dated payments. says the Social Security commissioner "shall adjust primary insurance amounts to the extent necessary to take into account바카라 게임 웹사이트 changes in the law. It's not immediately clear how this will happen or whether people affected will have to take any action.
Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said firefighters across the country are 바카라 게임 웹사이트excited to see the change 바카라 게임 웹사이트 we've righted a 40-year wrong.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Kelly said the policy was 바카라 게임 웹사이트far more egregious for surviving spouses of firefighters who paid their own quotas into Social Security but were victimized by the government pension system.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The IAFF has roughly 320,000 members, which does not include hundreds of thousands of retirees who will benefit from the change.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Now firefighters who get paid very little can now afford to actually retire," Kelly said.
Brown, who as an Ohio senator pushed for the proposal for years, lost his reelection bid in November. Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees labor union, thanked Brown for his advocacy.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Over two million public service workers will finally be able to access the Social Security benefits they spent their careers paying into," Saunders said in a statement. "Many will finally be able to enjoy retirement after a lifetime of service.바카라 게임 웹사이트
National Education Association President Becky Pringle said the law is 바카라 게임 웹사이트a historic victory that will improve the lives of educators, first responders, postal workers and others who dedicate their lives to public service in their communities.바카라 게임 웹사이트
And while some Republicans such as Collins supported the legislation, others, including Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, voted against it. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We caved to the pressure of the moment instead of doing this on a sustainable basis,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Tillis told The Associated Press last month.
Still, Republican supporters of the bill said there was a rare opportunity to address what they described as an unfair section of federal law that hurts public service retirees.
The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.
The policy changes from the new law will heap more administrative work on the Social Security Administration, which is already at its lowest staffing level in decades. The agency, currently under a hiring freeze, has a staff of about 56,645 바카라 게임 웹사이트 the lowest level in over 50 years even as it .
The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released last May said the program바카라 게임 웹사이트s trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. The new law will hasten the program바카라 게임 웹사이트s insolvency date by about half a year.
Along with ratifying the Social Security Fairness Act, earlier in his presidency Biden signed the Butch Lewis Act into law, which saved the retirement pensions of two million union workers.
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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.