The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing on the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP) on April 16. Repeal of these provisions, which reduce Social Security benefits for millions of Americans, is a longstanding FMA issue brief, and FMA National President Craig Carter submitted testimony for the official record of the hearing.

The Social Security Government Pension Offset law prevents government retirees who receive a government pension, but did not pay into Social Security, from collecting both a government annuity based on their own work, and Social Security benefits based on their spouse's work record. This is unfair to many spouses, especially widows, who often lose the Social Security protection their spouse provided for them. Under current law, a Social Security widow’s benefit is reduced by $2 for every $3 earned if the widow is eligible for a pension based on a public sector job that was not covered by Social Security. According to the Congressional Research Service , as of December 2022, more than 730,000 Social Security beneficiaries had their benefits reduced by the GPO, with 52 percent widows and 48 percent widow(er)s. No such offset affects spouses receiving pensions from private sector employers.

The Windfall Elimination Provision is another inequity that disadvantages many federal retirees receiving Social Security benefits and a federal pension which did not require payment into Social Security. It reduces the Social Security benefits federal retirees receive based on the number of years they served in a federal position that did not require their payment of Social Security taxes. According to the Congressional Research Service, as of December 2022, the WEP impacts approximately two million people --roughly 3 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries.

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82 / S. 597), which would repeal both the GPO and WEP, has received tremendous support in the 118th Congress. The House bill has 319 cosponsors -- nearly three quarters of the chamber -- while the Senate version has 53 cosponsors. This reform is overdue as demonstrated by the overwhelming support by so many in Congress. FMA has called for a markup by the full Ways and Means Committee as a next step.