After labor leaders across the nation have fought for decades to eliminate two provisions that unfairly penalize thousands of public sector retirees, including many in Massachusetts, President Joseph Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on January 5.
The Act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions of the Social Security law – which both unfairly penalize thousands of public sector retirees in Massachusetts, including school teachers.
“The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity,” said President Biden. “The law that existed denied millions of Americans access to the full Social Security benefits they earned by thousands of dollars a year.”
“No one who pays into the Social Security system should see the benefits they’ve earned cut or eliminated – especially those who dedicated their careers to public service,” said American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang, who was present at the bill signing . “In addition to fair wages, reasonable benefits and safe working conditions, everyone deserves a secure and dignified retirement and we are pleased to say that after years of advocacy, our collective efforts paid off to ensure all workers have access to these benefits.”
Prior to its elimination, the WEP slashed or eliminated Social Security benefits public sector workers earned through second jobs or during other points in their careers. In Massachusetts, this provision impacted nearly 93,000 Social Security beneficiaries including retirees, disabled workers, and spouses/children. Changes to the WEP will help approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries across the country.
The GPO affects the spousal benefits of nearly 800,000 retirees who worked as federal, state, or local government employees — including teachers — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO cut the Social Security benefits received by surviving spouses by two-thirds if they also collect a government pension. In many cases, this offset their benefits entirely. In Massachusetts, over 42,000 Social Security beneficiaries were affected by the GPO - with nearly 29,000 of those beneficiaries seeing their benefits completely offset.
“These changes mean an estimated average of $360 per month in additional income for millions of teachers, nurses, and other public employees,” continued Biden.
The Act will apply to Social Security benefits payable after December 2023 - making those impacted eligible for retroactive benefits through 2024. The Social Security Administration is expected to soon publish more details about the law’s implementation on its website.
“Both of these provisions disproportionately impact low-income retirees - including tens of thousands in Massachusetts alone. It's set up so public school teachers and paraprofessionals end up being penalized for working a second or third job in the private sector, which many have to do to get by,” said AFT Massachusetts Secretary Treasurer Brant Duncan. “On top of that, these provisions disenfranchise many from becoming educators as a second career – undoubtedly contributing to the national teacher shortage we’re facing.”
The bill passed the United States House of Representatives in November. On December 11, unions from across the nation, including the AFT Massachusetts rallied in Washington D.C. to urge the U.S. Senate to act before the end of the year.
Secretary-Treasurer Duncan along with President Tang were at the rally with International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) General President Edward Kelly, a third-generation Boston firefighter and representatives from multiple unions, including: the AFL-CIO; AFT; American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSME); National Education Association (NEA); Service Employees International Union (SEIU); National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFEA); Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); American Postal Workers Union (APWU); and more. The rally featured Congressional sponsors of the bill – Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Representative Garrett Graves (R-LA) – and remarks from leaders on the issue, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and AFT President Randi Weingarten.
Ten days after the rally, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 76 to 20.