WASHINGTON, D.C. () – A bipartisan bill to increase retirement benefits for Georgia teachers and first responders is now law.

Last month, Senator Jon Ossoff brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, which will increase Social Security benefits for public employees like teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.

The bill was signed into law on Sunday.

The bipartisan law repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce or eliminate regular Social Security benefits for workers and their eligible family members if the worker receives or is entitled to a pension based on earnings from employment not covered by Social Security, including for many public employees like teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.

According to WSB-TV Atlanta, the bipartisan law will restore Social Security benefits for over 50,000 Georgians.

“Educators, firefighters, and law enforcement officers already make huge sacrifices for our state and aren’t in it for the money — it makes no sense to unfairly reduce their Social Security benefits,” Sen. Ossoff said. “That’s why I worked to successfully pass into law the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act to repeal these unfair policies that risk hurting teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers and ensure these public servants receive the Social Security benefits they’ve earned through their work.”