House passes bill to increase Social Security

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would increase Social Security benefits for some pensioners. The bipartisan legislation, led by Representatives Abigail Spanberger and Garret Graves, aims to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These rules have reduced Social Security payments for about 3% of beneficiaries, particularly retired public servants like police officers, teachers, and firefighters. As of December 2023, the WEP affected around 2.1 million people, while the GPO reduced benefits for 745,679 individuals who receive Social Security as spouses, widows, or widowers while also drawing pension checks. Spanberger and Graves emphasized the need to allow Americans who contributed to retire with dignity, calling the current rules discriminatory. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare praised the House vote as a “bipartisan victory.” However, critics like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimate that the change could add $196 billion to federal deficits over the next decade and potentially accelerate the depletion of Social Security’s trust fund.

Social Security benefits increase proposed

The bill now heads to the Senate for approval. If passed, it will be sent to the President’s desk for signing into law. The changes would be effective for benefits payable after December 2023. Supporters argue that the bill is a matter of fairness, with Spanberger and Graves stating, “For more than 40 years, the Social Security trust funds have been artificially propped up by stolen benefits that millions of Americans paid for and that their families deserve. The time to put an end to this theft is now.” The Senate has a busy schedule in the remaining weeks of the year, and if the bill doesn’t pass by January 3, when a new session of Congress begins, it would expire, and supporters would have to start the process over. If the Social Security Fairness Act becomes law, it could enhance benefits for 4.5 percent of all beneficiaries by 2025, with an average annual increase of approximately $7,300, according to a 2020 study by the Urban Institute. However, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the repeal could increase federal deficits over 10 years, posing additional fiscal strain on the Social Security Trust Funds.