LOUISIANA — The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden in January, could lead to increased benefits for millions of Americans.
The act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset.
The Social Security Administration stated that these provisions previously reduced or eliminated benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive pensions from work not covered by Social Security because they did not pay into Social Security taxes. Most affected individuals were public servants, such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers.
KATC spoke with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy about what residents should do moving forward.
“If you’re already receiving Social Security, you have nothing to do. You’ll get the money for the back payment and you’ll get the increase going forward. Now, if you have never applied for Social Security but you are eligible, whenever you apply, then you’ll begin to get the money," he said.
The SSA started depositing payments to bank accounts in the this week, and are expecting most payments to be completed by the end of March.
“This is the way democracy is supposed to work. When the people have an issue, they keep advocating. All those teachers, firefighters, and police officers came together, and that’s why democracy is supposed to work,” Cassidy said.
Click here to read more about the SSFA.
