Social Security Benefits To Increase Under New Law: What To Know In CA

CALIFORNIA — Present Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on Sunday, a measure that will boost benefits for California's public service workers.

The new law will repeal provisions that have reduced benefits for those who receive government pensions such as the Golden State's former police officers and firefighters. The measure will boost Social Security payments for current and retired public employees for the first time in 20 years.

The move will affect 3 million people nationwide.

"The bill I'm signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity — that's the entire purpose of the Social Security system," Biden said during Sunday's signing ceremony.

"This is a big deal," he said.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders joined Biden in the White House East Room to applaud the bipartisan effort, which was introduced in 2005 by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine along with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., according to MarketWatch.

Former provisions also reduced retirement benefits for school teachers. The California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas applauded major progress on the bill in December.

"Existing law punishes teachers and faculty for paying into their pensions in addition to qualifying for Social Security outside of public service, leaving educators vulnerable in their elder years even after dedicating their lives to students,” said Freitas. “I don’t know a single educator who chose teaching to make money; we do this work because we want to make a difference in our students’ lives. But educators shouldn’t have to sacrifice hard-earned Social Security benefits because we chose this vital profession."

READ MORE: Social Security Retirement Age Going Up In 2025: What It Means In CA

To boost benefits for public workers, the law rolls back the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. These provisions have limited Social Security benefits for those who have received retirement support from a state or local government.

In December 2023, about 1 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries (745,679 people) had their benefits reduced by the Government Pension Offset. Meanwhile, about 3 percent (2.1 million people), had their benefits reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision, according to estimations by the Congressional Research Service.

By rolling back the Windfall Elimination Provision, monthly payments to those affected will boost payments by an average of $360 by December 2025, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. Eliminating the Government Pension Offset would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 recipients getting benefits based on living spouses, according to the CBO. The increase would be an average of $1,190 for 390,000 or surviving spouses getting a widow or widower benefit.

The payments will increase over time with regular cost-of-living adjustments.

With the new law taking effect "with respect to monthly insurance benefits payable under Title II of the Social Security Act for months after December 2023," the Social Security Administration may owe back pay to many retirees, according to the measure. However, it remains unclear how or when these payments will be disbursed.

Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, told the Associated Press that the U.S. has "righted a 40-year wrong," noting that the previous policy was "far more egregious for surviving spouses of firefighters who paid their own quotas into Social Security but were victimized by the government pension system."

"Now firefighters who get paid very little can now afford to actually retire," Kelly said.

What to know if you filed for benefits in California

While the Social Security Fairness Act takes effect immediately by eliminating previous provisions, the Social Security Administration is still evaluating how to implement it.

Here's what the administration recommends for filers:

If you previously filed for benefits and they are partially or completely offset:

• You do not need to take any action except to verify that the SSA has your current mailing address and direct deposit information.

If you have not previously filed for Social Security benefits:

• If you're getting a public pension and are interested in getting additional money, file online or schedule an appointment here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.