Biden signs boost to Social Security for public workers

Biden signs the Social Security Fairness Act

President Joe Biden signs one of the last major pieces of legislation of his presidency

(Image credit: Chris Kleponis / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

President Joe Biden Sunday signed the Social Security Fairness Act, which repeals two decades-old laws that limited Social Security payments for public workers with pensions and their surviving spouses. The change will boost payments to about 2.5 million teachers, firefighters, police officers, postal workers and other beneficiaries by an average of $360 a month.

Who said what

"The bill I'm signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity," Biden said at Sunday's signing ceremony. "That's a big deal in middle class households like the one I grew up in and many of you did."

The new law, "decades in the making," passed "just under the wire," with the Senate approving it 76-20 on Dec. 21 after the House passed it in November on a 327-75 vote, CBS News said. A White House official said Biden was "the first president in more than 20 years to expand Social Security benefits." It's "expected to be one of the last major pieces of legislation of his presidency," ABC News said.

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What next?

The "future of Social Security has become a top political issue," not to mention a concern for its 72.5 million recipients, The Associated Press said. The program's trustees said last May that Social Security's trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2035, and the new law will "hasten the program's insolvency day by about half a year."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.