The Act is approved by both the Democrats and the Republicans but must be passed quickly, before the transitionary period of the United States government takes place. The news comes after studies revealed that 53% of workers look to depend on Social Security to pay their expenses when they retire, whilst a further 73% are concerned the benefits will no longer be there at all.
“For the first time in history,” Senators Sherrod Brown and Susan Collins, as well as Representatives Abigail Spanberger and Garret Graves said to the Senate. “You have the opportunity to bring this bill across the finish line.
“We urge you, on behalf of the nearly 2.5 million retirees impacted by WEP and GPO in every state across the nation, to bring the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.82) before the U.S. Senate for a vote.”
What Will The Social Security Fairness Act Change?
It aims to expand Social Security to some retirees, such as firefighters and teachers, who see their benefits reduced if they collect a pension from jobs that are not covered by the retirement program.
Additionally, it looks to ensure that survivors still receive the full amount as Social Security is also reduced for them and has taken around 25 years to draft before finally reaching the stage of being approved by the House 327-75.
Specifically, it will abandon the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) to allow more money to go to those in jobs who miss out on Social Security due to the legislative clauses.
The bill must be passed by December 31, when the second session of Congress ends. Otherwise, it will need another draft and will need to be proposed by somebody else despite being backed by both parties. It is expected to cost around $190bn over a decade
