President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 into law, a significant win for retirees nationwide, including many in Guam.

Delegate James Moylan, who co-sponsored the legislation in 2023, praised the passage of the historic measure.

The new law eliminates two key provisions:

The Windfall Elimination Provision: This reduced Social Security benefits for individuals receiving pensions or disability benefits from employers who didn’t withhold Social Security taxes.
The Government Pension Offset: This reduced spousal, widow, and widower benefits for those with their own government pensions.

“We are happy to report the passage of this historic legislation, which we proudly co-sponsored. There are retirees in Guam whose Social Security benefits are adversely impacted by other benefits they receive, particularly related to disability income or pensions. This new law will help increase monthly payouts, which would help many retirees address the rising cost of goods and services,” said Moylan.

It is estimated that the average increase in SSA benefits due to the passage of this law would be $360 a month.

The measure also provides a retroactive payout of these increased benefits as far back as December 2023.