U.S. Senate passes Social Security bill to repeal WEP and GPO

The repeal, a decades-long priority for public employee advocates, was passed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 21, and was signed into law by President Biden on Jan. 5. The Social Security Fairness Act will deliver higher Social Security benefits to millions of public sector retirees, including police and firefighters. 

The legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset has been reintroduced each Congress for decades but had not received a vote in either chamber until 2024. The House previously passed the bill in November. 

 Passage was a major victory for advocates who argue the deductions unfairly hurt those who collected pensions but also worked jobs covered by Social Security. 

The WEP and GPO are two provisions of Social Security that reduce or sometimes eliminate benefits for public employees, as well as their surviving spouses. Those impacted by WEP and GPO total about 2.4 million, including firefighters, teachers and law enforcement officers.

posted 12/23/2024

updated 1/6/2025