Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) led 27 colleagues in calling for the immediate implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act, which President Biden signed into law in early January, in a letter sent to Acting SSA Commissioner Michelle King this week.
The new law, which has been decades in the making, provides full Social Security benefits for 3 million public employees who draw public pensions - such as former police and firefighters. However, the new law, which will boost Social Security retirement payments to those public sector retirees will now be delayed.
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SSA announced last week that those beneficiaries may have to wait a little longer than expected for those higher payments, as SSA expects that it could take “more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefit.”
SSA further explained: “SSA's ability to implement the law in a timely manner and without negatively affecting day-to-day customer service relies on funding. The Act did not provide money to implement the law.” The law will cost more than $195 billion over 10 years, while accelerating the insolvency of Social Security trust funds that are already projected to be depleted by 2035.
The new law will eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision, enacted in 1983, which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who receive government pensions not covered by Social Security. It will also repeal the Government Pension Offset, enacted in 1977, which reduces benefits for spouses, widows and widowers whose spouses receive public sector pensions.
“The Social Security Administration’s website currently states, ‘SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits’ owed under the Social Security Fairness Act. We call for the immediate implementation of this legislation to provide prompt relief to the millions of Americans impacted by WEP and GPO,” wrote the senators.
Sen. Cassidy played a pivotal role in getting the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law in January. He is a long-time cosponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act in the Senate, being an original cosponsor since he became a Member of Congress in 2009. Last March, he grilled U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on President Biden’s plan to address Social Security, to which Secretary Yellen admitted “the president doesn’t have a plan,” to save Social Security.
In the letter to the SSA commissioner, Senator Cassidy was joined by 26 other U.S. Senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Fetterman (D-PA). Also included in the letter were Rhode Island Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jack Reed (D-RI), who launched their own effort earlier this week when they were joined by union officials in their state to call on the Trump administration to swiftly implement the new law.
“Thousands of hardworking Rhode Islanders who have dedicated their lives to serving our communities deserve the reassurance that they won’t be short-changed on their Social Security benefits. That’s why I worked for years with my colleagues to pass this legislation and ensure that millions of teachers, postal workers, firefighters, police officers, and other dedicated civil servants get the benefits they have earned …,” said Sen. Reed.
Related: Rhode Island lawmakers call on Trump to ‘swiftly’ implement Social Security Fairness Act
“We call for the immediate implementation of this legislation to provide prompt relief to the millions of Americans impacted by WEP and GPO,” urged the Senators in their letter. “In the interim, we request monthly updates and briefings regarding the status of the Social Security Administration’s progress towards implementing the Social Security Fairness Act.”
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Lynn Cavanaugh
Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh is Senior Editor, Retirement at BenefitsPRO. Prior, she was editor-in-chief of the What's New in Benefits & Compensation newsletter. She has worked for major firms in the employee benefits space, Vanguard and Willis Towers Watson, as well as top media companies, including Condé Nast and American Media.
