House Passes Social Security Fairness Act to Address WEP and GPO Reductions


Overview:

If signed by President Biden, legislation passed the bill into law it would apply to all benefits payable after December 2023.

Today in the Oval Office, President Biden Sunday signed the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing two statutes that have reduced payouts to public sector workers, including teachers, for decades.

“The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition,” Biden said before signing the Social Security Fairness Act. “Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity.”

In December, the U.S. Senate voted 76-20 to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, a bill aimed at repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which affect the Social Security benefits of over 2.8 million Americans, including numerous educators.

Both provisions help public service employees retire with more funds in their retirement accounts.

Windfall Elimination Provision

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in 1983, reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who receive government pensions not covered by Social Security.

Government Pension Offset

The second provision will also repeal the Government Pension Offset, enacted in 1977, which reduces benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers whose spouses receive public sector pensions.

Under this new legislation, Americans can receive retirement benefits if they have paid into Social Security for at least 10 years. They are also entitled to spousal or survivor benefits if their spouse paid into the program.

The History of Advocacy for Social Security Act

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the bill’s sponsor, has worked for 20 years since her first introduction in 2005. In comments, she highlighted the plight of teachers in Maine who worked their whole careers in the public sector under a state retirement system that did not include Social Security and, as a result, received a fraction of the Social Security benefits earned by spouses who worked in the private sector after they died.

“In 2003, I held the first-ever Senate hearing on the WEP and the GPO, and I am pleased that now these unfair provisions in our Social Security system will finally be done away with,” said Senator Collins. “This is a victory for thousands of teachers, first responders, and public servants in Maine, who through service to their communities have been forced to forego their earned retirement benefits. I thank my colleagues for the overwhelming support this legislation has received, as it will help millions of Americans retire with dignity and receive the Social Security benefits they earned through years of work.”

Final Passage

Getting the bill to final passage was no easy feat. To move the bill forward in the House, cosponsors of the bill, Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA-06) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), held a press conference on Sept. 19 with several public-sector employees to rally support for a discharge petition that could force a vote on the House floor.

Collins told the story of a retired public school teacher in Bangor, Maine, who returned to the workforce at age 72 after her husband — who had paid into Social Security for 40 years — died because two-thirds cut her survivor benefits due to the GPO provision.

The Congressional Budget Office projects the legislation will add $196 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years and speed up Social Security’s projected insolvency by six months.

The legislation passed the House last month by a vote of 327 to 75.

President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on January 5 in the Oval Office.



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