Here’s how Social Security was created in the U.S.
Social Security benefits get talked about a lot in the U.S. but have you wondered how the benefits work and if they are taxable? Here’s a breakdown.
Just Curious
The first wave of Social Security claims resulting from the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law on January 5 has been processed and checks are being sent, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said.
The Social Security Fairness Act eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security benefits for certain retirees who also receive pension income. Together, WEP and GPO affect nearly 3 million Americans including police officers, firefighters, postal workers and public-school teachers.
The number of payments SSA has made is a tiny fraction of the millions of Americans who may be entitled to bigger Social Security checks, but the SSA says it’s working on it.
“To date, we have processed approximately 30,000 of these new initial claims and, depending on their age and other factors of entitlement, some of these new beneficiaries are receiving retroactive payments,” a SSA spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email. “We continue to work on the process.”
Why are payments taking so long?
Since the Act’s “effective date is retroactive (to January 2024), SSA must adjust people’s past benefits as well as future benefits,” the agency said last month.
However, SSA said it wasn’t…
