CLEVELAND — The retirement incomes of more than a quarter million Ohioans got a boost over the weekend as President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law. The law allows those receiving public pensions to receive their full Social Security benefits if eligible.
"For me personally, it's kind of a relief," retired Cleveland Firefighter Sean DeCrane said. It means more than a few dollars and peace of mind for him and his wife should anything happen to him.
"Now, seeing that we can qualify and get a return on that investment into Social Security, it eases a little bit of that worry," he said.
The bipartisan law, co-sponsored by former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who returned to Washington for the Sunday signing and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), expands Social Security benefits to public service workers, firefighters, teachers, nurses and more.
Workers who are receiving government pensions but who also held private sector jobs where they paid into Social Security.
"For years, some folks have paid into Social Security and a state retirement only to have their Social Security benefits reduced sometimes down to almost nothing," said Rick Lucas, President and Executive Director of the Ohio Nurses Association.
The act gets rid of two early 80s regulations the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), that restricted those payments.
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Frank Szabo is vice president of the Cleveland Firefighters Union IAFF Local 93.
"The feedback that we've been hearing, in particular our retired members, my father's been retired for 34 years, they never thought they'd live to see the day when this was corrected."
So how much will this mean? Well, the White House says we're talking about an average increase of $360 a month for those eligible. That's not all; even though the law was signed in January 2025, it's retroactive to January 2024.
As a result, President Biden said Sunday, "Over 2.5 million Americans are going to receive a lump sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in the benefits they should've gotten in 2024."
The obvious question then is when might those eligible expect a check? The Social Security Administration tells News 5 they're still working that out. They are "determining the timelines for implementing this new law." They said in a statement that they "will provide more information on our website as it becomes available."
News 5 has been following the progress of this legislation, introducing you last fall to Cleveland Fire Captain Sam DeVito.
"It would impact me huge," DeVito said.
He worked in the private sector for 17 years before joining the department. At the time, he told us that his inability to draw his full benefits would mean he'd end up working longer than he'd like.
"That extra money would definitely sway me to maybe leave earlier than what I was originally planning to do," he said.
Well, News 5 caught up with DeVito on Monday, so what's his thinking now?
"To be honest with you, I called Social Security this morning and they go, 'Are you calling about the WEP bill?' I go, 'No, I know all about it.' So, I'm looking forward to moving on," he said. "Right now, I'm thinking about going pretty soon."
