Signed by former President Joe Biden (D) in January, a law co-authored by U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) allowing public employees and their spouses access to increased social security benefits has now taken effect.
Based on a statement from the Social Security Administration released Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s (R) administration is supportive of this policy.
Approved by significant margins in both the House and Senate, this bill repealed two statutes reducing the amount of Social Security benefits that public employees and their spouses were eligible to receive.
Known as the “Social Security Fairness Act,” this law eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
These laws are estimated to have resulted in reduced benefits for more than 3.2 million Americans.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved the bill repealing these provision by a margin of 327-75, while Senate lawmakers passed it 76-20.
[RELATED: Joe Biden Signs “Social Security Fairness Act” into Law]
These changes will be retroactively applicable for benefits paid after December 2023.
This legislation was coauthored by former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Maine Senator Susan Collins (R).
PIA — Primary Insurance Amount; YOC — Years of Coverage; AIME — Average Indexed Monthly Earnings
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the WEP established a formula used to adjust the Social Security benefits of those who receive “non-covered pensions,” defined as “a pension paid by an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary.”
Generally speaking, such pensions come from state, federal, or local government employment, including in schools, law enforcement, and fire departments.
“Congress passed the WEP to prevent workers who receive non-covered pensions from receiving higher Social Security benefits as if they were long-time, low-wage earners,” the SSA explains.
The “WEP guarantee” provides assurance that one will not receive less than half of the benefit amount they otherwise would have, meaning that in some cases, benefits are reduced by a smaller factor than the formula recommends.
Similarly, the GPO adjusts the spousal or widow(er) benefits for those receiving non-covered pensions.
“Congress created the GPO in 1977 to help ensure that spousal and widow(er) benefits of those with covered or non-covered lifetime earnings would be roughly equal,” the SSA writes.
Social Security’s “dual-entitlement rule” reduces spousal benefits “dollar-for-dollar” with one’s own earned benefit, and the GPO is said to have “a similar intention.” Although benefits were originally offset dollar-for-dollar, this was reduced to two-thirds in 1983.
“This is welcome news for beneficiaries of the Social Security Fairness Act,” Sen. Collins said in a statement Tuesday, referring to the bill officially taking effect.
“I am glad that the Social Security Administration has announced that it will begin issuing retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to those affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset,” said Collins. “I will continue to urge [Social Security Administration] to implement the law swiftly as we finally right this wrong.”
Click Here to Read Sen. Collins Full Statement
Despite having been singed into law on former President Biden’s watch, President Trump’s (R) administration appears to be clearly supportive of the policy.
“Social Security’s aggressive schedule to start issuing retroactive payments in February and increase monthly benefit payments beginning in April supports President Trump’s priority to implement the Social Security Fairness Act as quickly as possible,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, in a statement Tuesday.
“The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation,” Commissioner Dudek said. “The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.”
Click Here to Read the Social Security Administration’s Full Statement
Appointed by Trump, Dudek has expressed a commitment to “openness, transparency, and accountability” and has definitely supported the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), referring to it as “a critical part of President Trump’s commitment to identifying fraud, waste, and abuse, and better ways for the government to function to support its people.”
More than 25,000 Mainers will see their Social Security benefits increased as a result of the Social Security Fairness Act going into effect.
