In the early hours of Saturday morning of December 21st, the U.S. Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset which reduced social security benefits for retirees who also worked for states and universities not participating in Social Security. That includes NSHE faculty and classified staff on PERS or the NSHE Retirement Plan who earned Social Security benefits from prior employment. When the Nevada Faculty Alliance met with congressional representatives in Washington this year, the Social Security Fairness Act was one of our top issues. The success in Congress was due to a strong national coalition of public employee advocates including our affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers.

Statement from Randi Weingarten, AFT President:

AFT members just helped secure a major victory for working Americans! The Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act overnight, capping a decadeslong fight for retirement justice for educators, nurses, firefighters, first responders and other public employees.

Read about this important victory here!

From the start of his administration, President Joe Biden has acted decisively on retirement security. Now we hope he will sign this bill quickly, because so many of us know a teacher, firefighter, law enforcement officer, nurse or public worker who’s paid into Social Security year after year, only to have their payments curbed by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset when they retire.

After 40 years of advocacy and coalition-building by our members—and other workers and retirees across the nation—I’m thrilled that justice was finally done for the millions of Americans who have dedicated their lives to serving the public but would see their retirements throttled by a punitive and unnecessary loophole.

As you know, the WEP and GPO create real financial hardship for retired educators, firefighters, police officers and other public employees. For example, the WEP unfairly penalizes retirees who have spent careers in public service but who have also paid into Social Security at some point, whether while working in the private sector or while working in the public sector in states not affected by the WEP.

Educators covered by the WEP have seen their earned Social Security benefit reduced by 40-60 percent. They represent a substantial portion of the more than 2 million retired public employees and more than 6 million current public employees who are affected by the WEP.

Similarly, the GPO hurts hundreds of thousands of retired teachers, support staff and other public employees; current public employees will potentially triple that number. Under the GPO, a Social Security-penalized teacher receiving a public pension, whose spouse is collecting a Social Security benefit, is not entitled to that spousal benefit when the spouse dies before the teacher.

Under the GPO, the Social Security benefit is “offset” by the public pension. Any other surviving spouse is entitled to that Social Security death benefit, even if they are drawing from a substantial retirement account like a 401(k) or an IRA. This is deeply unfair, and it’s also cruel to continue when it’s well-known that the GPO has a disproportionate impact on women, who are more likely to be impoverished as they get older.

The Senate joined the House and delivered on its promise to pass the Social Security Fairness Act so that every public employee can retire with dignity and grace.

This win is important because a fair and secure retirement is how we respect the workers who uplift our communities. It’s also how we recruit and retain the next generation to help our country thrive.

I’m so grateful to the bill’s sponsors—Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Garret Graves, and Sens. Sherrod Brown and Susan Collins—and to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for shepherding this bill through the legislative process.

For our retirees and for our future, we, and the 118th Congress, have made a difference.

Congratulations to all the AFT members and supporters who worked to make this victory happen.

After fighting for so long for Social Security fairness, this win is a sweet way to start the holidays.

Thank you.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President