By Gregory Korte
Bloomberg News
(TNS)
Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk—though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency.
If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social Security payments to more than 2 million beneficiaries, according to the Congressional Research Service. The increases—as much as $550 a month for some retirees—would be retroactive to December 2023.
Those beneficiaries are mostly those who have received foreign pensions or government workers such as police officers, firefighters and teachers who contributed to a federal or state pension plan but didn’t pay Social Security taxes.
The legislation, called the Social Security Fairness Act, eliminates two formulas that reduced benefits for these workers who receive foreign and government pensions in addition to Social Security. Those provisions, known as the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, were enacted more than 40 years ago in response to an increase in retirees who hadn’t fully paid into Social Security and to more dual-income couples retiring.
Sponsors of the law say the old Congress over-corrected, and unfairly withheld earned benefits from retirees and their spouses.
While the White House hasn’t said whether Biden would sign the bill, it passed both chambers with bipartisan majorities: 327-75 in the House last month and 76-20 in the Senate early Saturday morning.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would hasten Social Security’s insolvency—now projected to come by 2034—by another six months and add $196 billion to budget deficits over the next 10 years. As a result, a typical couple retiring in 2033 may see lifetime benefit cuts of $25,000, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, that would have pushed back the retirement age to 70. Only three senators supported the amendment.
— Lillianna Byington and Steven T. Dennis contributed to this report.
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©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: Payroll
Margaret M. Blair December 23 2024 at 2:12 pm
I agree with this bill, however, you must find a way to subsidize the Social Security Benefits. This provision should have never gone into practice in the first place. I will say maybe you should make sure that the wealthy are paying their share and if the qualify for Social Security, only then should they receive payments. Maybe you should increase the amount and/or use a portion of sales tax monies and put it into Social Security as well! If you don't do something it will end! We need support of all people so this can continue. The one last thing I would say, is there are many who are collecting benefits, stating they are not able to work. I believe you need to check into these cases a little more closely, as many do not need these benefits, they need to go back to work!