Congress recently passed the Social Security Fairness Act, which aims to increase Social Security benefits for public sector workers by eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that reduce benefits for retirees with pension income. The bill, which affects nearly 3 million Americans, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and teachers, was approved by the Senate and House and now awaits the president’s signature.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the legislation as a way to correct the unfair treatment of retired public sector workers who contributed to Social Security but are penalized due to their pensions. However, some senators opposed the bill, arguing that it would increase unfairness in benefit calculations and contribute to the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund.
The bill is estimated to cost $196 billion over the next 10 years and aims to address the challenges faced by individuals who receive non-covered pension income from public sector jobs. The WEP reduces benefits by up to half the pension amount, while the GPO can reduce benefits to zero if the government pension is higher. Supporters of the bill, including the American Federation of Teachers, have been advocating for its passage to rectify the unfair treatment of public sector workers who have contributed to Social Security.
Photo credit
www.usatoday.com