Maine Association of Retirees

Social Security updated their website yesterday to give people information on when they can expect to see their benefit increase because of passage of the Social Security Fairness Act which eliminated the WEP and GPO effective January 1, 2024. If you have additional questions, please contact your local Social Security Office.

Following is the excerpt from Social Security website at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html

NEW! When will a person see their Social Security benefit increase because of the Social Security Fairness Act?

Starting the week of February 24, 2025, SSA beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the WEP and GPO.

 If a beneficiary is due retroactive benefits as a result of the Act, they will receive a one-time retroactive payment, deposited into the bank account SSA has on file by the end of March. This retroactive payment will cover the increase in their benefit amount back to January 2024, the month when WEP and GPO no longer apply.

 Social Security benefits are paid one month behind. Most affected beneficiaries will begin receiving their new monthly benefit amount in April 2025 (for their March 2025 benefit).

 Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment.

 NOTE: A beneficiary may receive two mailed notices, the first when WEP or GPO is removed from their record, and a second when their monthly benefit amount is adjusted for their new monthly payment amount. They may receive the retroactive payment before receiving the mailed notice.

 We have been able to expedite payments due to the use of automation. For the many complex cases that cannot be processed automatically, additional time is required to manually update the records and pay both retroactive benefits and the new benefits amount.

 We urge beneficiaries to wait until April to inquire about the status of their retroactive payment since these payments will process incrementally throughout March.

 Beneficiaries should also wait until after receiving their April payment before contacting SSA to ask about their monthly benefit amount because the new amount will not be reflected until April for their March payment

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 10:00 am before the Committee on Labor on LD 328 which MAR asked Representative Dan Shagoury of Hallowell to sponsor. Many public service retirees were promised during their employment that when they retired and started receiving a pension from MainePERS, their health insurance would be paid at 100%. As many of you know, when you became Medicare eligible at age 65, you are now required to pay for Medicare Part B. The present monthly premium is $185.00 which continues to increase on an annual basis. MAR’s President, Bill Laubenstein, will be at the hearing to testify in support of LD 328.

However, MAR also needs your help to get LD 328 voted affirmatively out of the Committee on Labor. To show support for this LD, please contact legislators on the Committee on Labor to let them know the financial burden that paying $185.00 monthly or $2,220 annually has had on your retirement.  LD 328 reads as follows:

An Act Requiring the State to Pay a Retired State Employee’s or Retired Teacher’s Premium for Medicare Part B Under Medicare Advantage

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §285, sub-§7, ¶N is enacted to read:

1. N.  Beginning January 1, 2026, the State, through the commission, shall pay 100% of a retiree’s Medicare Part B premium under the Medicare Advantage plan identified and offered by the commission and available to the retiree as authorized by the commission if the retiree is not eligible for federally approved Medicaid services.

Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §13451, sub-§6 is enacted to read:

6. 6.  Payment by State for Medicare Part B under Medicare Advantage. Beginning January 1, 2026, the State shall pay 100% of a retired teacher’s Medicare Part B premium under the Medicare Advantage plan administered by the Maine Education Association benefits trust if the retired teacher is not eligible for federally approved Medicaid services.

SUMMARY

This bill requires the State to pay 100% of a retired state employee’s or retired teacher’s premium for Medicare Part B under the Medicare Advantage plan beginning January 1, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: Following is the website address which will give you the legislators’ names and contact information: https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/LAB

You may also testify in person at the Public Hearing or submit written testimony before March 5^th to https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/

Thank you for assisting MAR and fellow retirees with this matter.