OHIO — Millions of Americans will start receiving extra dollars come March, thanks to the new Social Security Fairness Act that was signed recently into law.

What You Need To Know

  • In 1983, the government was looking at ways to cut back and save money
  • Congress passed a law with amendments to the Social Security Act that opened the door for people not receive those benefits 
  • Passage of the Social Security Fairness Act reverses that and will now allow millions to receive $360/month

“The rationale was that if your employer is not paying into some of these social security funds that you shouldn’t be able to then get benefits from them at the end, particularly because you were getting these government pensions, you are already getting some amount of government money,” said Spectrum News 1 Legal Analyst, Rory Riley-Topping said decades ago, when Congress stripped away the benefits. “So it was viewed at the time as some sort of double dipping.”

Now, millions of Americans will see the shift with the new law that’s been adopted. That means public employees like teachers, firefighters and police will see an increase in their benefits of about $360 a month. 

Yet, questions about where the money will come from have surfaced as talk of money from Social Security is slated to run out in 2035.

“The Congressional Budget Office did an estimate with regards to this legislation,” said Riley-Topping. “They said that passing it speeds that process up by about six months. So I think we’re certainly going to see some heated debates about Social Security, who pays into it, how much and how those benefits are awarded, particularly in the new administration.”

She added it will be something to watch as the DOGE, headed up by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramasawmy, are seeking ways to cut government spending while making things more efficient.