Goodbye to the expansion of Social Security benefits? Retirees who will get a raise in their paychecks before Trump arrives
Democrats in Congress are aiming to get through bills to safeguard Social Security before Donald Trump becomes president again.
The House of Representatives recently passed the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act with a decisive vote of 325 to 75, led by co-sponsors Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Garret Graves (R-LA).
This bill aims to eliminate two provisions that have historically reduced monthly checks for seniors: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions have affected workers who receive pensions alongside Social Security benefits, particularly impacting public servants such as educators, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. Eliminating the WEP and GPO would affect approximately 2 million and 800,000 retirees respectively.
If enacted, the Social Security Fairness Act could significantly increase benefits for affected retirees. The Urban Institute estimates that eliminating the WEP and GPO would mainly benefit retirees with the highest income, by $1,900 for people in the top fifth of the income distribution, compared with only $400 for people in the bottom fifth.
There are also concerns that, as a cut to Social Security revenue, the dual-elimination would hasten the demise of the whole welfare safety net. It would increase costs by 1 percent, while there is only eleven years before Social Security runs out of money.
When could the bill be signed?
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In the Senate, the bill will need to overcome potential procedural hurdles, including the need for 60 votes to invoke cloture and end debate. The Senate version of the bill currently has 62 co-sponsors, which could be sufficient to overcome these hurdles if all co-sponsors support it
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