Are you or a loved one a retired public servant such as teachers, firefighters, police officers and others who have paid into Social Security for years?
For over 40 years legislation has been in place that capped or excluded their claiming of the benefits they paid into for so long. The new Social Security Fairness Act just signed into law on January 5th this year expands Social Security for retired firefighters, police officers, postal workers, teachers, and others who for years contributed to Social Security, but were limited by the 1983 Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) if their employers did not also pay into Social Security or the 1977 Government Pension Offset (GPO) for government employees. For those who have previously filed for Social Security benefits and they are partially or completely offset, the SAA says, “You do not need to take any action except to verify that we have your current mailing address and direct deposit information if it has recently changed.” For those who have not previously filed for Social Security benefits and are interested in doing so, the SAA says they can file online at https://www.ssa.gov/apply or schedule an appointment with their local office.
There will be a lump sum payment for Social Security income due for 2024 and then on-going monthly payments in 2025. As the legislation is fresh, some changes may still be put in place but there are updates posted at:
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html
