Senate approves bill to expand Social Security to millions of Americans
Source: CBS News
December 21, 2024 / 12:19 AM EST
Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, teachers and others with a public pension, from collecting their full Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, as the Senate held its first hearings into the policies in 2003.
"The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake," proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, after senators approved the legislation at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
The bill's passage is "a monumental victory for millions of public service workers who have been denied the full benefits they've rightfully earned," said Shannon Benton, executive director for the Senior Citizens League, which advocates for retirees and which has long pushed for the expansion of Social Security benefits. "This legislation finally restores fairness to the system and ensures the hard work of teachers, first responders and countless public employees is truly recognized."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-fairness-act-senate-vote-passed/
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Its as if I didn't work at all.
None of those years counted as I was paying into the Federal Employees Retirement fund.
When I quit, they gave me $6,000.00 which I was able to put $2,000.00 a year into an IRA. This was in 1985 and it never quite worked out that way.
I paid into Social Security for many years and receive a paltry $1350.00 a month in regular SSA.
I began working full-time at my Federal job when I was 19 years old as a temporary employee. I was paying into SS while employed temporarily but when I became full-time permanent, it as went into to the Federal employees pension system, no more into SSA.
I was disability retired on SSDI at the age of 39 by the State of Calif. at $49.00/month. 
Needless to say, I don't have much of anything, esp. a decent monthly income to live on.
Today, I receive a small pension of $100.00 a month from the State of Calif. as I worked for them from 1985-1996. I worked for UCSF, the State of Calif. and the California State College system. I drove to one job that paid $8.50 an hr. that was a 100 mile a day commute. I did that for about 2 years. It was a permanent part-time State of Calif. job that was barely worth doing, but I did it. My paychecks were about $800.00 a month or less.
People on SSI get more than I do in many cases as they quality for a lot of extra benefits that I do not receive, like a decent amount of food stamps. I get $23.00 a month in food stamps.
New Federal employees pay into SS and the Federal Employees Retirement System today. I would have too but at the age of 19, I didn't have retirement and a pension in mind at all.
Will this ruling help me at all? I rather doubt it.
