Right before the holiday break, Congress passed a measure that has been decades in the making. The Social Security Fairness Act, which will boost Social Security retirement payments to nearly 3 million public sector retirees who draw public pensions,
Today, President Joe Biden signed into law the bi-partisan Social Security Fairness Act.
This landmark legislation represents a significant victory for government employees, as it repeals the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) in the Social Security Code,
The Social Security Fairness Act will repeal two decades-old provisions that limited benefits for people who also receive a pension. Currently, public service employees are unable to receive their full Social Security benefits if they also receive other forms of retirement benefits, such as a pension.
The bill, which passed the House in November, will eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision, enacted in 1983, which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who receive government pensions not covered by Social Security. It will also repeal the Government Pension Offset, enacted in 1977, which reduces benefits for spouses, widows and widowers whose spouses receive public sector pensions.
There’s no good reason why public service employees who have earned their retirement benefits should not receive them.
This is a huge step for both the active and retired members of LiUNA Local 1001 and has been something not only this administration but many before us has worked to have corrected.