The U.S. Congress approved new legislation related to Social Security, which could increase benefits during 2025. The legislation would benefit more than 2.8 million retirees and aims to correct inequities in the benefit system. This bill received Senate approval, after prior review by the House of Representatives.
The measure is great news for retirees. It represents a great help for the beneficiaries, who for years were adversely affected by the economic situation of the country. With this new law, there will be significant changes in Social Security checks during 2025. You can read all the points of this regulation on the official website of the U.S. Congress.
What does the Social Security Fairness Act consist of?
The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates two provisions that used to reduce Social Security payments. Recall that this applied to those who also received pensions from jobs where they did not contribute to the system. Fortunately, the situation will change this year and beneficiaries will be able to see their monthly payments increase.
There are two rules that previously affected beneficiaries. These were measures that considerably reduced the income of retirees and pensioners and affected millions of people. These laws are as follows
- Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP): affected approximately 2 million retirees. It reduced the amount of Social Security checks for people who had worked in jobs in which they did not contribute to the system, but who were also entitled to benefits for other jobs in which they did contribute. For example, local or federal government workers, who faced cuts in their checks after retirement.
- Public Pension Offset (GPO): affected some 800,000 retirees. Specifically, those most affected were those who received a pension from a job without Social Security contributions and who were also entitled to spousal death benefits. For example, if a person received a $3,000 public pension and was entitled to $2,100 in Social Security death benefits, the current rule reduced his or her pension by two-thirds. In addition, your check would be reduced to only $100.
Who will benefit from this new law?
The elimination of these two provisions will primarily benefit a group of public service workers. These include police officers, firefighters and teachers. Once this new law goes into effect, these Social Security beneficiaries will see an increase in their paychecks.
It should be noted that these groups, according to legislators such as Abigail Spanberger and Garret Graves, have been unfairly affected for more than 40 years. In all that time, they have seen their benefits significantly reduced. In light of that, this measure seeks to correct what they called “stolen benefits” from millions of Americans who paid for them.
Arguably, the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act represents a breakthrough for millions of retirees who have faced years of restrictions on their Social Security payments. However, the debate over the financial future of the system remains open, leaving room for further discussion.
A contested law
Although this law is intended to benefit millions of citizens who receive monthly Social Security checks, there are some questions about it. Some legislators point out that it could be detrimental to the pension system. Mainly, the doubts are about the sustainability of the Social Security funds in the long term, if this regulation is implemented. It should be made clear that, by increasing benefits, more money will be spent, which could have serious consequences on the pension system.
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