Senate approves that more people receive Social Security

By Samuel Gonzalez

Dec 24, 2024, 11:57 AM EST

Just like a Christmas miracle, The Senate passed a major bill that would see nearly 3 million more Americans receive full Social Security benefits.. Good news without a doubt for these workers.

In the early hours of Saturday, December 21, senators voted 76 to 20 in favor of the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent almost 3 million workers, between firefighters, teachers, postal workers and others who receive a public pension, also can obtain full Social Security benefits.

After this validation, the project just waiting for President Joe Biden’s signature for it to become law. This project has waited decades to become a reality, since the first hearings were held in 2003 to discuss these policies.

“The Senate finally rightes a 50-year wrong,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., after senators approved the legislation at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.

Democrats voted unanimously in favor of the measure, while Republicans in the Senate were divided: 20 voted in favor and 20 against. Four senators did not vote, including Adam Schiff, Democrat of California; Joe Manchin, independent from West Virginia; and two Republicans: Marco Rubio of Florida and Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio.

Republicans who spoke out against the bill largely objected to its cost, noting that The measure would accelerate the planned insolvency of the Social Security trust fund by about six monthswhich is now estimated to occur in about a decade.

This bill was approved by the House of Representatives in November and it was feared that it would remain in limbo in the Senate, with the misfortune of not being approved before January 3, the date on which the next Congress will take the oath.

As soon as President Biden signs the bill, the law will go into effect with the provision of begin sending retroactive payments corresponding to all months of 2024as mentioned in the text of the law. The amount of money and beneficiaries would mean that this process could take time, without a pre-established compliance period, due to the logistics that this would entail.

The new law would be passed at a time when the Social Security Administration is operating at its lowest staffing level in more than 50 years, or since 1972, with a recently implemented hiring freeze, a spokesperson said.

The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two federal policies —the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—which reduce Social Security payments to nearly 3 million retirees. The WEP affects about 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and the GPO affects almost 800,000 retirees.

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