This Law Would Expand Social Security Benefits for Millions -- but It Comes at a Cost

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

65% : This bill would expand Social Security benefits for more than 2.7 million beneficiaries.
54% : The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)The way current law has it, the Social Security Administration determines the size of most people's benefit checks by first calculating their average monthly earnings adjusted for inflation over their 35 highest-earning years, also known as their average indexed monthly earnings (AIME), and plugging it into the Social Security benefit formula.
53% : But if that worker qualified for a $1,000 monthly non-covered pension, the Social Security Administration would subtract two-thirds of this -- $667 -- from the $1,000 spousal benefit, leaving the spouse with just $334 per month.
51% : These rules don't affect the vast majority of Social Security beneficiaries, but for those who are affected, they can have a huge effect on their monthly retirement income.
50% : With the program hurtling toward a shortfall in about a decade, the cry for Social Security reform continues to grow louder.
48% : But that's going to cost money -- $196 billion to be exact -- and money is something the Social Security Administration doesn't have a lot of right now.
41% : This provision may completely eliminate spousal and survivors benefits for some workers if the non-covered pension is high enough.

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