With the signing of a crucial bill, President Joe Biden has boosted the Social Security benefits for millions of employees working for the public sector in the US.
The Social Security Fairness Act will do away with the provisions that deprived some retirees of full Social Security benefits if they received pension. That means two policies—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)— that prevented retired teachers, police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and others who earned a public pension from being paid their full Social Security benefits, will be done away with.
With this bill, some public-sector employees will see their average monthly income going up by $360. Over 2.5 million employees will be receiving thousands of dollars as a lumpsum as arrears for last year.
It is reported that the passing of this bill will cost about $196 billion over the next one decade. That is why some people objected to the same, while others maintained that dearth of funds should not prevent retirees from getting what they deserved.
Organisations representing police officers and firefighters have been campaigning for the passing of this bill for some time now. Once made into a law, the provisions of the bill will come into effect retroactively from January 2024. The legislation, it is hoped, will, after years, make the system fair and ensure that the sincerity and hard work of teachers and other public-sector workers is rewarded.
