WASHINGTON – Congress on early Saturday passed a bill that would increase Social Security benefits for public sector workers.
The Social Security Fairness Act, would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security benefits for certain retirees who also receive pension income.
Together, WEP and GPO affect nearly 3 million Americans including police officers, firefighters, postal workers and public-school teachers.
The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 70-26 at 12:15 a.m. It was passed by the House in November and now goes to the president’s desk to be signed.
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The legislation is “a great gift for our retired firefighters, police officers, postal workers, teachers, and others who for years contributed to Social Security, but are now being penalized because of their time of public service,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said Wednesday. “That’s unfair. It’s deeply unfair. It goes against the American ideal of working hard, chipping in, and enjoying a well-earned retirement.”
However, some senators who voted against the legislation argued it would unfairly benefit some workers while increasing burdens for others on Social Security, and jeopardize the Social Security fund overall.
“Let’s be crystal clear: this bill would increase unfairness in how Social Security benefits are calculated,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a speech on the Senate floor Friday.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the Social Security trust fund is less than 10 years away from being insolvent, and said this bill will speed that up.
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“This policy does address a challenge with Social Security for a single-digit percentage of people who have a pension,” he said. “It is something we need to fix, but this is not the way to fix it.”
The bill will cost $196 billion over the next 10 years, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces Social Security for those who earn “non-covered” pension income their jobs, which are typically public sector roles, that didn’t contribute Social Security payroll taxes. Those workers can lose up to half the pension amount.
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The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduces survivor or spousal benefits when a person’s pension is non-covered. GPO affects fewer people, but it cuts the Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the pension amount. If two-thirds of your government pension is more than your Social Security benefit, your benefit could be reduced to zero.
The rules were intended to prevent Social Security from overpaying people who worked in non-covered pension jobs, experts told USA TODAY.
Public sector workers have been fiercely advocating for the Senate to take up the legislation.
“The Social Security Fairness Act rights a wrong that has been unfair and uncorrected for far too long,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “When you contribute to Social Security, it should be there for you when you retire. Period.”
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