Although in most years the United States Social Security increase is directly dependent on the COLA, on occasion we may find that the Senate passes a bill in which some American beneficiaries see an increase in their checks.
In this sense, it is not that we will exactly see an increase in the amount of dollars we get each month, but we will have fewer reductions in our monthly check. For that reason, at the end of the month we will have more money from Social Security.
In total, we will see about 2.8 million United States retirees with these new benefits as a result of the new law that changes the rules for regular benefits. If you’re in that group, you may have a little extra money coming your way very soon.
Who will get this Social Security increase?
In this case, we are talking about the Social Security Fairness Act. Thanks to this new change passed by the House of Representatives, we will see two Social Security rules cease to exist. The two rules are:
- Windfall Elimination Provision.
- Government Pension Offset.
In the case of the former, the Windfall Elimination Provision reduces Social Security benefits in the case of retirement in local or federal government-style jobs. That is, those who did not contribute to Social Security during their employment. In the case of being eligible for regular Social Security, these Americans will not have this penalty and will be able to enjoy their larger benefit.
On the other hand, the Government Pension Offset relates to work-related pensioners who did not contribute to Social Security but are eligible to apply for deceased spouse retirement. This case is more specific but also affects about 800,000 retirees today.
Keeping in mind that we will no longer see benefits reduced by these rules, it is safe to say that many Americans who had a portion of their benefit withheld will no longer have as much money deducted. Thus, in the event that a person benefits from this new law, he or she will be able to begin to have a better standard of living very soon.
If we are in this situation, we will have to wait a little while before we can see these improvements available. There is no concrete date yet to be able to determine this, but very soon the Social Security Administration will give news on this matter.