Social Security Fairness Act
Social Security Fairness Act
Details
The Social Security Fairness Act was recently signed into law, affecting two 40-year-old provisions that reduced the benefits of public employees who received pensions not covered by Social Security payroll taxes. An example of affected groups includes teachers, postal workers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and other public sector employees.
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) were intended to prevent individuals who received state or local pensions from being able to “double-dip” into retirement benefits. The unions representing public service workers argued that those provisions unfairly penalized them. Estimates show that the bill should lead to an average monthly increase of $360/month for public employees, their spouses, and survivors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost $196 Billon over the next ten years.
Next Steps
For those who have previously applied for Social Security benefits and are being partially or completely offset, no action is needed except to verify your current mailing address and direct deposit information. You can access this information through your online account at ssa.gov or by calling the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213.
Under the new law, if you are currently having your Social Security benefits reduced by the GPO or WEP, you can expect to see your benefits recalculated and increased. Current recipients are expected to receive a lump sum payment for benefits backdated to January 2024.
For those who have not previously filed for Social Security Benefits, follow the link to apply online or call the phone number listed above to set up an appointment.
If you are someone who has yet to file to receive benefits for Social Security but who intends to receive a pension from non-covered employment, then you will not be affected by the GPO or WEP.
This is a rapidly developing retirement income planning topic that is expected to impact nearly 3 million current or former public employees. If you are one of them, please reach out to your advisor at Capital Advisors Ltd.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) noted and may or may not represent the views of Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment. The material presented is provided for informational purposes only.
CONTACT US
Please Note: Limitations. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk and volatility. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including this Strategy), will be profitable, equal any specific performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. At any specific point in time, or over any specific time-period, any investment or investment strategy can and will suffer losses, at times substantial losses. It should not be assumed that stocks with higher dividend growth will outperform those with lesser or no dividend growth.
It should not be assumed that stocks with higher dividend growth will outperform those with lesser or no dividend growth. No amount of prior experience or success should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if Capital Advisors is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Capital Advisors is not a certified public accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as accounting advice. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this document serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advisory services from Capital Advisors. A copy of our current written disclosure Brochure and Form CRS discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at www.capitaladvisorsltd.com.
Aggregated Portfolio Data as of 12-19-2023.
S&P 500: a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States
Vanguard U.S. Dividend Growers: measure the performance of U.S. companies that have followed a policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 10 consecutive years. The index excludes the top 25% highest-yielding eligible companies from the index.
Capital Advisors, Ltd., 20600 Chagrin Boulevard 1115 Tower East Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122
Please review Important Disclosure Information set forth in the last section of this web site. Form ADV Form CRS FINRA Broker Check
More information regarding this firm and its investment professionals can be found on Form ADV, Form CRS, and FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Please review Important Disclosure Information set forth in the last section of this web site.