The effort to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP) gained even more steam in late May and early June. As you know, FMA supports the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82/ S. 597), legislation that would repeal both provisions. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) are the lead sponsors of the House bill, while Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Senate version.

Most recently, on Friday, June 7, the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy – Chaired by Sen. Brown – held a field hearing in Ohio titled “Keeping the Promise of Social Security for Ohio’s First Responders and Public Servants.” The hearing featured two panels of witnesses who testified about the unfairness of the GPO and WEP. Additionally, on May 23, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus threw its support behind H.R. 82, the House bill.

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 being widows. 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. 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.

H.R 82 now has 320 cosponsors and is the second-most cosponsored bill in the 118th Congress. S. 597 now has 57 cosponsors. Legislators are continuing to work to find ways to lower the cost for this overdue repeal. FMA recently met with congressional staff from the champions of repeal and other organizations dedicated to the cause to discuss strategies for moving forward on this important bill.