On Saturday, Congress passed a new bill that will give more money to certain retired workers, like former police officers and firefighters. The Senate voted 76-20, and the House had already passed it with 327 votes in favor. Now it’s up to President Joe Biden to sign it into law.
This bill will change rules that have been in place for over 20 years. These rules reduced benefits for people who also get public pensions. Many normal workers rely solely on Social Security and what they can save. In fact, only about 1 in 10 private workers have pension plans.
The new law will help about 2.5 million retirees, which is around 3% of all Social Security recipients. Some of these retirees could see hundreds of dollars more added to their monthly Social Security checks.
However, some experts warn this could hurt the program’s finances. They estimate the cost of the bill will be about $196 billion over the next 10 years. Emerson Sprick, an expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center, expressed concern about the lack of understanding of the long-term problems with Social Security.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget also warned that this change could make financial issues worse. Their president, Maya MacGuineas, stated, “We are racing to our own fiscal demise.”
Senator Ted Cruz spoke against the bill, saying it could harm seniors who depend on Social Security. Supporters of the bill believe that they can address these financial challenges in the future. Senator Michael Bennet, who supports the bill, mentioned that these are complex issues that need to be worked on together.
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