The official update regarding the Social Security Fairness Act, which was in the month of May earlier this year, has officially arrived. According to the Social Security Administration, around 91% of cases that are related to the newly passed act have been provided. The act, which was passed in January, eliminated a total of two provisions, namely the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. These provisions were responsible for the reduction of the social security benefits of individuals who received public pensions that did not require them to pay Social Security payroll taxes. The following article will provide you with more information about the latest updates on the Social Security Fairness Act.
All Affected Beneficiaries To Receive Increased Payments By November
The SSA has revealed that it has already processed around 91% of cases related to the act, but some that are relatively complex remain. When the act was passed in January, the administration told the beneficiaries to wait for over a year to receive increased payments. However, the administration is now planning to update all the beneficiary records that are affected by the act by November. The Social Security Administration has attributed the speedy processing of the payment to automation. An SSA official stated that the agency, under the new commissioner, Frank Bisignano, is working to surpass its own projection. Frank has reportedly assured the senators that this process will be finished while the weather is warm.
Who Will Receive An Increased Payment Under The Social Security Fairness Act?
Beneficiaries who have established themselves as eligible to receive Social Security benefits but also receive public pensions that did not require them to pay Social Security payroll taxes are the ones who are going to be most affected by the new act. Some of these individuals are working as teachers, firefighters, and police officers. The federal employees who are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System may also see an increase in their payments. In addition to that, individuals who are covered by any foreign Social Security system might receive increased payments.
You need to note that not all the individuals belonging to these categories will see an increase in their payments. According to the estimates, over 72% of state and local public employees pay Social Security taxes. Such employees are not going to see an increase in their payments because of this law.
Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries can also expect an increase in their payments because of this law. The Railroad Retirement Board spokeswoman revealed that the beneficiaries are going to receive a new monthly annuity from July and one-time retroactive payments as July ends.
By Much Will The Social Security Fairness Act Increase Your Payments?
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the beneficiaries may witness monthly increases in payments ranging from $360 to $1,190. The amount of increase the beneficiaries will see depends on individual circumstances. The beneficiaries who are affected may also receive lump sum payments dating back to January 2023. Both the increase in payments as well as back payments are processed together for all the beneficiaries.
Why Don’t You Still See An Increase In Your Social Security Payments?
According to the data coming from SSA, it has already processed around 2.5 million cases related to the new law. The cases that still have not been processed could not be automated due to some unique circumstances. If you are someone who’s still awaiting an increase in your payments, this means your case must have some unique circumstances as well. The agency has asked for some additional time to manually update the records of the remaining cases. If you are someone who has newly qualified to receive Social Security benefits may have to file an application as per the SSA.
What’s Going To Happen Next As The Social Security Fairness Act Implementation Nears Completion?
David A. Weaver, a former SSA executive, mentioned that Congress might ask the Government Accountability Office to start auditing the process of the Security Fairness Act implementation. This will help them evaluate the final administrative costs for processing the benefit changes due to the law. It will also help them determine whether the other work of the agency was sidelined as the process was completed.
