President Biden Signs Underwood-Backed Bill to Increase Social Security Benefits for 3 Million Americans

WASHINGTON—Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) released the following statement today, after President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law:

“Generations of Americans have counted on Social Security for the peace of mind and dignity that come with a secure retirement. But for more than 40 years, millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public sector workers have served our communities and paid into social security, but have had their earned retirement benefits unfairly cut,” said Underwood. “I know how hard folks work, and I have long supported the Social Security Fairness Act to make sure these community leaders receive their full retirement benefits. Social Security belongs to us all, and I will continue my work to protect and improve it for generations to come.”

Under the Social Security Fairness Act, over 2.1 million retirees on Social Security will receive an average increase of $360 per month. Furthermore, over 700,000 surviving spouses will see an increase between $700 and $1,190 in their monthly benefits, on average. Underwood has been a cosponsor of the legislation since she first came to Congress in 2019 and fought for its passage into law.

The new law repeals both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), two provisions added to the Social Security Act in 1983 that unfairly reduced the earned Social Security benefits of many retired public servants and their spouses who worked in both covered and non-covered jobs during their careers. Together, the WEP and GPO provisions impacted close to three million Americans who will now no longer have the benefits they worked for unfairly reduced.

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