IFPTE Urges Congress to Move WEP and GPO Repeal Across the Finish Line, Restoring Social Security Benefits for Federal and Public Sector Retirees and Spouses
This week, IFPTE joined the broad coalition of unions and organizations representing federal, state, and local government employees and retirees in making the final push to get the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, through Congress. The bill repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces or denies the earned Social Security benefits of more than 2.7 million government retirees and spouses, representing roughly 4 percent of Social Security beneficiaries.
On Tuesday, IFPTE sent a letter urging the House of Representatives to vote for the measure, saying, “Allowing the WEP and GPO to continue is doing a disservice to current and future retirees who have given decades of their professional lives to serving the public. WEP and GPO are grossly unfair to these retirees and workers as the Social Security benefits of private sector workers are not reduced if they receive benefits from private pension plans.”
The House passed the bill by a vote of 327 to 75. IFPTE will urge the Senate to pass the bill before the end of the year.