El Paso! I am so excited to share wonderful news with you today! The Social Security Fairness Act has passed Congress and it’s soon to be signed into law by President Biden.
If you are one of our many El Paso public servants — a teacher or first responder — there is a 1983 law that may impact you, which limits your access to earned benefits through Social Security.
That year, two provisions were added to the Social Security Act that unfairly reduced the earned Social Security benefits of many retired public servants. As a result, many hardworking teachers, firefighters and police officers were denied money they had earned for retirement.
The first provision, the Windfall Elimination Provision (also known as WEP) impacts more than 2 million retirees nationwide and 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 paid into the system just like others.
The other provision, the GPO, affects the spousal and survivor benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees. Many government jobs are not covered by Social Security — even if the employee paid into Social Security for their entire career. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension and affects almost 800,000 beneficiaries.
Last month in the House, we righted these wrongs and passed the Social Security Fairness Act, which repeals these two provisions. And late last night, the Senate followed our lead and passed the bill as well. It’s now headed to President Biden for his signature.
The results of our work will have a significant positive impact on the lives of eligible El Pasoans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that eliminating the WEP would increase benefits starting next year by an average of $360 per month and eliminating the GPO would increase benefits by an estimated $700 per month for impacted spouses and $1,190 for surviving spouses.
Through my tenure in Congress, I’ve heard from many of you in every corner of our great community who wanted this addressed once and for all. Your tireless advocacy has been important, inspiring and powerful and I’m so proud to have helped champion this relief alongside you. Congratulations to all the El Pasoans who will finally have access to their earned benefits!
