Some Social Security beneficiaries will see their benefits increase under a new law.
Retired Americans who are recipients of pensions as former public employees may soon begin receiving higher Social Security benefits after a recently-enacted law took effect.
The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden on Jan. 5 and eliminated policies known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension (Offset). Those policies reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for more than 3.2 million people who receive a pension for work that wasn't covered by Social Security because they didn't pay Social Security taxes.
Among the groups of people who were affected include certain teachers, firefighters and police officers in many states; federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and people whose work was covered by a foreign social security system. It doesn't apply to all such people because about 72% of state and local public employees work in roles covered by Social Security and pay into the system — so they won't see a benefit increase under the new law.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) explained that the size of the monthly benefit change can vary greatly based on the type of benefit received and the amount of the person's public pension. Some individuals may see only a very small increase, while others may be eligible for over $1,000 more each month, the agency noted.