The “Social Security Fairness Act” ushers in Changes to Social Security for many
With great fanfare (and some dissention) Congress recently passed, and President Biden signed, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82). Enactment of H.R.82 will result in increased Social Security benefits for many whose benefits were previously reduced because they had a separate government pension earned without contributing to Social Security. Primarily, this affects older federal employees who retired under the previous CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System), and many state and local government retirees from about 26 U.S. states which have opted out of the federal Social Security program, and who have separately earned Social Security benefits. H.R.82 also affects many spouses and surviving spouses who also have a non-covered pension (earned without contributing to Social Security). The two repealed provisions are known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), affecting about 2 million federal and state retirees, as well as about 800,000 spouses and surviving spouses of those retirees.
This is exciting news for all of those affected,, but also will cost billions of dollars in additional benefits at a time when Social Security is facing serious financial issues in just 8 short years. This article by Aris Folley appearing at The Hill lays out details about H.R. 82 and explains how Social Security will be affected. Click here to read the article at The Hill.
For it’s part, the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service offers guidance about all Social Security matters and is poised to answer questions about H.R. 82 as well. Generally, it will take the Social Security Administration some time to react to the new legislation, and the AMAC Foundation has issued the following preliminary guidance for those wondering if, and how, they may be affected:
“With the passage of HR 82, The Social Security Fairness Act, people who are or should be receiving a Social Security benefit and a pension from employment not covered under Social Security will be affected by this new legislation. If a person who is receiving a non-covered pension has had their Social Security benefits reduced because of WEP and/or GPO, they will see an increase in their Social Security benefits potentially as far back as January 2024. Afterwards, the new adjusted monthly amount will continue to be paid. SSA is in the process of adjusting their internal systems and programs to accommodate and implement this new change. They will be informing all affected parties as they roll out the changes and payments. Many people who are already receiving reduced benefits and in SSA’s systems will not need to take any action as everything should be automated. If someone never applied for Social Security benefits because of WEP and/or GPO, they should contact SSA as soon as possible at 1-800-772-1213 to speak with a representative. An appointment may be established during their phone conversation with the SSA representative. We ask everyone to have patience while SSA implements all these changes and subsequently notifies everyone affected of their actions.
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