Lawmakers press Social Security on lag in paying expanded benefits to public employees

by Jennifer Shutt, Louisiana Illuminator
February 6, 2025

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators from both political parties wrote to the acting Social Security commissioner on Thursday, expressing concern it might take the agency more than a year to implement an expansion to benefits that Congress approved last year.

“The Social Security Fairness Act restores full Social Security benefits for the millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public servants who are unfairly penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO),” the group of 28 senators wrote. “We call for the immediate implementation of this legislation to provide prompt relief to the millions of Americans impacted by WEP and GPO.”

The senators then asked Commissioner Michelle King to provide Congress with “monthly updates and briefings” on how the agency was implementing the new law.

The one-page letter was signed by Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Maine independent Sen. Angus King, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, New Mexico Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch and Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

No estimated timeframe

The Social Security Administration has a webpage with answers to several questions regarding the new law and how the agency is trying to implement the change in benefits.

The webpage says the agency “cannot yet provide an estimated timeframe for when we will adjust a person’s past or future benefits, but we will continue to provide updates on this webpage. We thank the public for its patience.”

The webpage also explains how people who have never filed for Social Security benefits due to the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset can apply now that there is a new law.

A spokesperson for the Social Security Administration said the agency “received the letter and will respond directly to the requestors.” States Newsroom had asked for details about why the law’s implementation might take a year. 

Congress voted on a broadly bipartisan basis late last year to approve the bill making the change and then-President Joe Biden signed it into law in January.

The pension offset affects about 746,000 Americans while the windfall provision affects 2.1 million, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which includes maps showing which states have higher concentrations of people affected by the two former provisions. 

Last updated 3:14 p.m., Feb. 6, 2025

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

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