The Social Security Administration’s decision to repeal two major provisions that will benefit millions of people. The agency is making decisions to improve the efficiency of the program and see to it that retirees receive their benefits with minimal disruptions.
The first provision that has been abolished is the Windfall Elimination Provision. This particular provision affected the benefits received by individuals whose jobs were not covered by Social Security. “WEP can reduce your U.S. retirement or disability benefits if you receive a pension based on work,” according to the SSA website.
People in the public sector, like teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers, were some of the professions that were affected by the provision. The GPO was the second provision that was abolished.
The Government Pension Offset was a provision put in place to ensure that people don’t receive disproportionately high benefits. It ended up affecting widows and widowers of former employees negatively.
The law to repeal these two provisions was signed on 5 January 2025. The main goal of abolishing this law was to see to it that the benefits received by individuals whose pensions were not covered by Social Security are not affected. The changes will greatly benefit millions of people who have suffered until now. It will provide some much-needed financial assistance to citizens who need it.
SSA Confirms Over $7.5 Billion in Retroactive Social Security Payments — beneficiaries are set to receive higher benefits starting in April
Yes, the media lied about this too! pic.twitter.com/W4JxgLhZmO
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) March 7, 2025
Another change that the SSA made this year was raising the threshold for the earning limits for a specific group. Starting this year, the earnings limit for individuals who have not reached the Full Retirement Age has been increased.
The limit that was previously set at $22,320 has been increased to $23,400 for 2025. After an individual reaches the maximum retirement age, no deduction will be made regardless of how much they earn. The earnings limit being changed has benefited citizens to earn without losing out on their Social Security benefits.
The SSA has also decided to make a change to the Cost of Living Adjustment. The agency shared how a 2.5% adjustment will be made to the COLA. The intention behind the decision was to help citizens cope with the rising inflation and cost of living. The change will apply to Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025, resulting in an average monthly benefit increase of approximately $50, from $1,927 to $1,976, starting in January.
This adjustment aims to help beneficiaries keep pace with… pic.twitter.com/esJ0nrKnxw— rgeyerlaw (@rgeyerlaw) January 27, 2025
Observing the 2.5% COLA adjustment will result in individuals receiving an additional $50 per month. A retiree who waited until the age of 62 to claim their SSA benefits can expect to get an average of $2,831 every month. If you are someone who has waited until the full retirement age to start claiming benefits, you might receive an average of $3,822 to $5,108 monthly.
The SSA is making all these necessary changes in order to improve the efficiency of the program so that it benefits beneficiaries. Another goal that the agency has is to make sure retirees receive their benefits without disruptions.
