Public employees across the country—educators, firefighters, police officers and federal employees—have faced reductions or eliminations of their Social Security benefits for decades due to two longstanding provisions of the Social Security Act: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
To change this flawed system, U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Garret Graves of Louisiana are spearheading a bipartisan effort to eliminate these provisions. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is leading a bipartisan version of this bill on the Senate side.
Spanberger and Graves filed a discharge petition in September to bring the Social Security Fairness Act to the House floor for a vote, and they have now secured the requisite number of signatures that will trigger a vote very soon.
Originally added to the Social Security Act in 1983 to address complexities surrounding public sector pensions, the WEP and GPO have unjustly penalized those dedicated to public service. The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for individuals receiving a pension from a non-Social Security-covered job, despite their contributions to the system through other employment. The GPO reduces spousal benefits by two-thirds for individuals receiving a government pension.
These provisions affect nearly 2 million Social Security beneficiaries under the WEP and close to 800,000 retirees through the GPO. For many retired public servants, these penalties result in significant income loss, making retirement security a distant goal.
AFSA has strongly endorsed the Social Security Fairness Act, continuing its longstanding advocacy for public servants. The union views the repeal of the WEP and GPO as an important goal for educators and other public employees who have been unfairly penalized.
"This is sound policy that will benefit many retired government employees, including our approximately 7,000 active retiree members," AFSA stated in a message thanking Spanberger. The union also reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for the bill and supporting lawmakers to ensure its passage.
AFSA President Len Pugliese emphasized, "Our fight is about fairness for our educators and all public employees nationwide. It's time to eliminate these unjust penalties and restore the retirement security of those who have dedicated their careers to serving their communities."
The bipartisan nature of this legislation underscores the broad recognition that public servants have been disproportionately affected by these provisions. Spanberger and Graves argue that public employees—whether educators, law enforcement officers or firefighters—deserve the same Social Security benefits as other Americans. The fact that they have contributed to the system, only to see their benefits reduced due to their public service pensions, is a clear issue of fairness.
"Millions of Americans who paid into Social Security during their careers have been stripped of their retirement benefits," Spanberger and Graves said in a joint statement. "Our legislation is supported by a bipartisan coalition of more than 325 lawmakers—far more than the majority needed for the discharge petition to succeed or for the bill to pass on the U.S. House floor."
For public employees, especially those nearing retirement, the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act could be transformative. Retired teachers who worked in summer jobs, federal employees who held private sector roles and firefighters who paid into the system through second jobs would finally receive the full benefits they earned.
For surviving spouses of public servants, the repeal of the GPO would restore crucial income. Many widows and widowers have seen their financial stability affected by a two-thirds reduction in benefits simply because their spouses worked in public service.
