Biden signs boost to Social Security for public workers
The president signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, expanding retirement benefits for millions
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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."
-
Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
-
Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
