Lawmakers Push to Repeal Social Security WEP

The Social Security Fairness Act, backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, aims to eliminate rules that reduce benefits for public employees with pension income. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) filed a discharge petition to expedite a vote on the bill, which has significant support from both parties. The government pension offset (GPO) and windfall elimination provision (WEP) are the two rules targeted by the legislation.

The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for those receiving pension or disability benefits from employment that did not require payroll tax contributions to the program. The GPO affects spouses, widows, and widowers with pension income, reducing their Social Security benefits. Over 2 million workers are impacted by the WEP, while more than 745,000 Americans are affected by the GPO.

National groups representing police, firefighters, teachers, postal workers, and government employees at various levels are rallying behind the effort to repeal these rules.

Pension offset rules and Social Security

However, experts suggest that simply eliminating the rules may not make the program’s benefits fairer.

Social Security benefits are designed to be more generous to lower earners, and pension-covered workers who contribute fewer years to Social Security are sometimes viewed as low earners, resulting in disproportionately generous benefits. Paul Van de Water, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, proposed updating the rules rather than eliminating them. Removing the WEP and GPO could be costly, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating a repeal would cost around $196 billion over 10 years, which could be a significant burden given Social Security’s looming trust fund depletion dates.

The Bipartisan Policy Center and other experts recommend updating Social Security’s benefit formula to better reflect total lifetime earnings, including spousal and survivor benefits. This approach could make the system fairer without the financial impact of a full repeal. Despite the challenges, lawmakers remain committed to advocating for the Social Security Fairness Act. Sen.

Mike Braun (R-Ind.), co-sponsor of the bill, urged during a recent hearing, “Get a hold of your representative or your senator to get on it, because this is part of a broken system.”