Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The Social Security Fairness Act has been signed into law by President Joe Biden, meaning nearly 3 million Americans will get backdated benefits from January 2024 onward totaling over $4,000.Why It MattersThe signing of the bill into law means backdated payments will be made to millions of Americans who were previously not eligible for full Social Security benefits due to their job. It primarily affects those in public service roles, such a teachers, firefighters, police officers and government workers.The push to enhance payments for Social Security recipients has been years in the making, with the Senate holding its first hearings in 2003, CBS News reported.What Is the Social Security Fairness Act?The Social Security Fairness Act, which abolishes the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support last year.However, it faced last-minute objections from some Republicans due to its cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Social Security Fairness Act would add an estimated $195 billion to the federal deficit over a decade.The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for recipients who receive pensions from public sector jobs, such as state and federal employees, that are or were not required to make Social Security payroll tax contributions, even if they contributed to Social Security through other jobs over the course of their career and are otherwise eligible for benefits. This provision impacted some 2 million beneficiaries.The GPO decreased spousal or survivor benefits for retired federal, state, and local government workers who did not pay into Social Security through payroll taxes. This rule impacted nearly 800,000 retirees.What To KnowAs well as enhancing future benefits, the Social Security Fairness Act stipulates that back payments must be made to January 2024 by the Social Security Administration (SSA).The CBO has projected that eliminating the WEP would result in an average increase of $360 in monthly payments, something that was confirmed by Biden as he signed the bill on Sunday.”By signing this bill, we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses and other public employees and their spouses and survivors,” Biden said. “That means an estimated average of $360 per month increase.”This means that on average, recipients would get $4,320 in backdated payments for benefits from January 2024 to December 2024.The CBO also estimated that ending the GPO would raise monthly benefits by an average of $700 by December 2025 for the 380,000 recipients whose benefits are based on living spouses. For 390,000 surviving spouses receiving widow or widower benefits, the average increase would be $1,190.
The Social Security Fairness Act has been signed into law by President Joe Biden, meaning nearly 3 million Americans will get backdated benefits from January 2024 onward that total over $4,000.
The Social Security Fairness Act has been signed into law by President Joe Biden, meaning nearly 3 million Americans will get backdated benefits from January 2024 onward that total over $4,000.
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What People Are SayingOutgoing Democratic Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said: “Social Security is a bedrock of our middle class. You pay into it for 40 quarters, you earned it, it should be there when you retire. All these workers are asking for is for what they earned.”Then-Representative Bob Good, a Virginia Republican, in a December X, formerly Twitter, post: “The ‘SS Fairness Act’ is not fair, as it unfairly rewards individuals who did not pay into SS during the yrs in which they were qualifying for a taxpayer-funded govt pension. It will cost $200B over 10 yrs and accelerate the insolvency of SS for everyone. We don’t have the $$!”National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare spokesperson Walter Gottlieb said in an email to Newsweek: “President Biden’s signing of the Social Security Fairness Act today truly is historic. The new law rights a wrong that, for the last 50 years, has either reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of certain government retirees. This is the bipartisan solution that most Americans want, even though some on Capitol Hill have proposed to slash benefits by raising the retirement age, means testing, cutting COLAs [cost-of-living-adjustment], or privatizing Social Security.”Shawn DuBravac, CEO and president at Avrio Institute, told Newsweek: “Beyond the trust fund solvency issue, increasing new and adjusted benefit claims could add an operational burden to the SSA which might require additional funding in order to handle the increase in workload. The agency is already dealing with funding shortfalls and this could exacerbate that pressure.”What’s NextThe SSA is facing insolvency as early as the mid-2030s. At that point, there will only be enough money to pay out roughly 80 percent of what recipients are owed from their time in the workforce.In regard to the Social Security Fairness Act, an SSA spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday that it “is determining the timelines for implementing this new law,” and that it will “provide more information on our website as it becomes available.”
