A change in federal law could increase the retirement incomes of hundreds of thousands of Colorado public employees, including those at Colorado State University and the Poudre School District in Fort Collins.
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 6, eliminates two federal restrictions that reduce Social Security payouts for workers receiving state or local government pensions.
How can public employees get a Social Security increase?
Because the majority of these workers do not contribute to Social Security, they are ineligible for benefits for their government work. However, some of them have worked in jobs that required them to pay into Social Security.
Their Social Security benefits, including spousal or widower benefits, have been reduced or eliminated as a result of two provisions enacted over 40 years ago. The removal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) will change all of that.
Which beneficiaries will the Social Security Fairness Act impact?
Anyone who receives a pension based on labor that was not covered by Social Security and has had their payments frozen or reduced as a result.
The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), which provides benefits to employees at over 400 government organizations and public bodies, would be impacted by the change, which will affect hundreds of thousands of members. Some examples of public organizations include public school districts and universities.
Colorado State University and the Poudre School District alone employ over 10,000 people in Fort Collins, and their retirees currently receive pensions. Members also include state troopers, judges, and staff from various counties, municipalities, cities, and taxing districts.
The law change also affects federal employees enrolled in the Civil Service Retirement System. According to the Social Security Administration, 72% of state and local workers nationwide are unaffected by these changes because they work in jobs covered by Social Security.

Here is what you need to know about the upcoming Social Security payment adjustments
While the Social Security Administration has not revealed the exact date of the adjustment, benefits are retroactive to January 1, 2024, more than a year ago.
According to the agency’s website, SSA is completing its strategy for implementing the Act while minimizing the impact on our daily workloads and public services. We do not currently have a timeline for when we will modify an individual’s past or future benefits, but we will keep this page updated.
The amount of your pension, the type of benefits, and your income will all influence this. Benefit reductions will be compensated retroactively to January 2024 with lump sum payments.
Furthermore, keep in mind that former President Joe Biden announced a $360 monthly benefit increase, while former Louisiana Rep. Garret Graves introduced the bill, which varies in eligibility, with some receiving less than $1,000.
Do beneficiaries need to contact the Social Security Administration to get the benefit?
If the SSA already has your current mailing address or direct deposit information, you do not need to take any further action. For more information, visit the SSA website. If you have not previously applied for spouse or surviving spouse benefits, you may be required to do so.
To apply for survivor benefits, call 1-800-772-1213, or go to the Social Security Administration’s website to apply for spouse benefits. Don’t forget that the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the adjustments will cost $196 billion over the next decade.
Proponents of the bill claimed that it would put an end to an unjust system that punished government employees for their service.
Opponents argued that because the change affects how Social Security benefits are calculated for different workers, it will result in a more unjust system. Furthermore, they warned that it could cause the Social Security trust fund to deplete faster.
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