Social Security Fairness Act Nears Critical Senate Vote, Aiming to Benefit 2.8 Million Retirees

The Social Security Fairness Act, which has garnered significant bipartisan support, is now in the hands of the Senate, with a tight deadline to be passed before the end of the year. The bill, which aims to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), would increase Social Security benefits for approximately 2.8 million retirees, including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public sector workers.

The House of Representatives passed the bill with a strong bipartisan vote of 327 to 75, despite a last-minute attempt by members of the House Freedom Caucus to derail it. The legislation now needs to be brought up for a vote in the Senate, where it has 62 co-sponsors, enough to defeat a filibuster. However, the bill must be voted on before December 31, as it will expire at the end of the current congressional session.

The WEP and GPO provisions have long been criticized for reducing Social Security benefits for public workers and their surviving spouses. The WEP adjusts Social Security benefits for individuals who have less than 30 years of significant earnings from employment covered by Social Security and who also receive a non-covered pension. The GPO reduces spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the monthly non-covered pension, often resulting in the complete offset of these benefits.

Advocacy groups, such as the National Education Association (NEA) and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), have been instrumental in pushing for the repeal of these provisions. They argue that these measures unfairly penalize public servants who have contributed to Social Security through other jobs or have earned benefits through their public service.

If passed, the Social Security Fairness Act would ensure that public workers and their families receive the full Social Security benefits they have earned, without the reductions imposed by WEP and GPO. This change would be effective for benefits payable after December 2023.