U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) is sponsoring legislation that would eliminate the eliminates the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO) of the Social Security Act.
Davis has secured 292 co-sponsors for his bill, called the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82). Davis said the bill repeals two titles of the Social Security Act that reduce social security benefits for those in public service, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers.
Specifically, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who do not earn social security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by social security have reduced benefits even though they pay into the system.
“The Social Security Act as it exists today unfairly penalizes millions of public service workers, including police officers and firefighters, who paid taxes into the system during their careers. These unfair and egregious provisions in Social Security must be repealed. I’d like to thank my nearly three hundred colleagues in the House who have cosponsored our bill, and I urge Speaker Pelosi to call our bill for a vote once it has been placed on the House Consensus Calendar,” Davis said.
Further, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees – including educators, police officers, and firefighters – if the job is not covered by social security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Davis pointed out that nine out of 10 public employees affected by GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid social security taxes.
Davis said these unfair provisions have the effect of discouraging people from entering public service professions.