Lorie Konish at CNBC reports President Joe Biden has signed the Social Security Fairness Act, paving the way for nearly three million Public Workers to boost their Social Security benefits.  The bipartisan legislation repeals two provisions that reduced Social Security benefits for certain Public Workers who also receive pension income.  This clears the way for Teachers, Firefighters, Policeman and other Public Sector Workers who also receive pension income to receive increases in their Social Security benefits.  The benefit boost comes as the new law repeals two provisions - the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), that have been in place for more than four decades.  The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pension or disability benefits from employment where Social Security payroll taxes were not withheld.  As of December 2023, that provision affected about two million Social Security beneficiaries.  The GPO reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows and widowers who also receive income from their own Government pensions. In December 2023, the GPO affected almost 750,000 beneficiaries.  “By signing this Bill, we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of Teachers, Nurses and other Public Employees and their spouses and survivors,” Biden said. “That means an estimated average of ($360) per month increase.”  That extra income is a “big deal” for Middle Class households, he said.  More than 2.5 million Americans will receive a lump-sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in benefits they should have received in 2024, Biden said.

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