President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act Sunday afternoon at an event at the White House.
The Social Security Fairness Act repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions of Social Security.
"The bill I'm signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity," Biden said during the event. "That's the entire purpose of the Social Security System crafted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly 90 years ago.
"Social Security is the bedrock of financial security for retirees and survivors and for millions of Americans with disabilities," Biden continued. However, "public sector employees like teachers, nurses, maintenance workers and more, many working second jobs beyond their public service ... the law that existed denied million of Americans access to the full Social Security benefits they earned by thousands of dollars a year. That denial of benefits also applied to surviving spouses of public service employees."
Biden said at the ceremony that the average benefit increase for these newly eligible public servants will be $360 per month starting in 2025. They also will receive a lump sum payment for what they would have received in 2024.
