December 18, 2024
Retirees Want Final Passage after Cloture Vote to Restore Social Security Benefits so that Millions of Americans will Avoid Economic Hardship
The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding the Senate’s 73-27 vote to reach cloture on H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act:
“Retirees are excited that the Senate reached cloture today on legislation to restore full Social Security benefits to millions of Americans. However, it is too soon to celebrate fully.
“The House also passed the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, on November 12, so the bill still needs final passage in the Senate before it can head to President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.
“This landmark legislation is a long time coming. The Alliance for Retired Americans has been working for decades to see this bill become law.
“For too long, the government has taken away Social Security benefits from millions of retired federal, state and local government employees who worked as teachers, police, firefighters, postal workers and general employees — benefits they earned when they worked other jobs.
“The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which unfairly reduce Social Security benefits for public sector retirees who receive a public pension — or the spouse or survivor of a Social Security beneficiary — who worked in a job not covered by the Social Security program.
“The WEP and GPO disproportionately affect lower-income workers and women. As a result of today’s vote, millions of Americans are now on the verge of avoiding economic hardship during their retirement.”
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Contact: David Blank, dblank@retiredamericans.org
I left a job after 15 years in order to further my education and have the career in education which is my passion. At age 70, I am still working full time as a faculty member at a community college. The crazy thing is I get my full retirement from Social Security as long as I keep working. When I retire I will lose half of my benefits when I need them, that is why I keep working. This is very unfair to someone who is a first generation college graduate and unfair to all retirees that paid into Social Security for 40+ quarters! Please pass the Social Security Fairness Act so I can finally retire.
Your wish has to its fruition! Retire will the respect you’ve earned! Many more blessings coming and thank you for your services!
I’ve waited years for this and am affected by both WEP & GPO. This is a great day for many and I thank those who made this happen.
Please get this passed you will never know how much this helps maybe we can keep up with the medical bills God bless everyone who worked on this bill
I hope these two legislative curses will be lifted soon. The whole world is watching to see who America treats its retirees who sacrificed so much only to be treated like flotsam.
I see there is opposition because of the cost, but it is so unfair that our benefits are not paid. We should not have to sacrifice any longer! Please get the senate to vote this week!
I am a retired teacher, and I have been affected by WEP for ten years!
Please support final appeal of WEP/GOP when it comes to vote again. This will ease an indue hardship on many retired public servants such as teachers, fit and polici officers. Thank you for consideration and support.
I have found that I will have to chose among buying groceries, paying for insurance or putting gas in my car.
The Sicial Security that I paid into for 25 years will be greatly reduced. My small teachers pension of 950.00 will not make it. At 67 years old I will be back working.
Senators, I implore you to get this load off of Americans’
back and make us proud of our country.
What truly stinks about the comments of Senator Manchin and others who claim to be American Stewarts is the reality that,in their remarks, Senators opposed to the repeal of the WEP and the GPO acknowledge that the 2 provisions were unfair and caused us to be unjustly harmed…but then the immediately pivot and blame us for the impending insolvency of a SS System that is BEING funded by the money we don’t receive because of the very things that are subject to the vote. Talk about a circular firing squad. Senator Paul, Senator Crapo, Senator Manchin, are you guys kidding me?
The Senate has been aware that these provisions were harming us for decades. Yet, rather than “ fix” the system, they simply let the robbery go on for 40 years. Do you get it now Senators?
Let me give you a clear example of the unfairness of the WEP.
2 True Cases. One is my own, and the other is my Family Physician. I worked 21 years and paid into the system every month. During the latter part of my career I was offered a job in a State/Local Govt area and I accepted. Upon my retirement I did my research and found that I was essentially going to lose between 30-40% of my SS Benefit due to the WEP. For the record I do get a small pension from my 9 year job. Bottom line: I’m reduced from a simple $980.00 pension to ( minus the $170 or so for Medicare minus approx. $480.00 as part of my WEP). Bottom line. I take home $350. Now the “ painful” part.
I turn to Physician. He is a high income learner, married, and his wife never worked a single day in her life. She raised her children. No problem. I get it. But she is gets 1/2 if her husband’s SS benefit as a Spouse. Her Physician husband makes the SS max. She gets 1/2.
Can you imagine the painful realization that I, who paid into the SS System for 21 years, will see my Benefits reduced by almost $550…. But someone who NEVER paid get 1/2 of the maximum. That is, my friends, cruel. It gets worse too.
This year my COLA was about $9.00. Two gallons of gas. My Doctor and wife get about $200. And year after year, COLA after COLA it grows.
My point: Senators… Stop putting the blame on us who are penalized by members of your club. You guys already know that you devised the WEP and GPO to clawback money Reagan Era. The truth is this my overstuffed and Ego inflated Senator friend….The SS Trust would already be insolvent 15 years ago if you weren’t taking our earned benefits and giving it to others who NEVER paid into the messed up system you created.
Thank you for giving these examples! Many people do not realize that a lot of these jobs that were affected were lower paying jobs. This bill is long overdue! I am in the WEP category I you know I didn’t do it and after the COLA (funny, not funny) this year I will clear $2 more and my husband (also WEP) will clear $3 more. No I worked 14 years more in public sector then he did.
GET IT DONE!!!!!
I watched senator Cruz (r) on c span today talk about hr 82 fairness to public employees. he mentioned the price tag attached to this bill approximately 190 billion over the next ten years. he failed to mention how much the social security administration has saved on not paying out full benefits earned by retirees like myself affected by the wep/gpo. I have lost about 45000 dollars over the past 14 years, that I have been collecting social security retirement benefits. if you ask me this whole thing is smoking mirrors!! senator Cruz does not care about the middle class!
“senator Cruz does not care about the middle class!”
quite true but the denizens of this state (TX) keep re-electing him time after time to their own demise.
“mentioned the price tag attached to this bill approximately 190 billion over the next ten years”
That’s if and only if current spending levels do not change for that decade . . .
what cruz and company can’t seem to understand is that the cost will reduce with each passing year as we CSRS retirees pass on. when we croak there will be less paid out. each passing years there are fewer and fewer of us.
I don’t understand how they could have allowed people who have paid into the system be thrown under the bus after becoming senior citizens. It’s so obvious that these people who have no problem paying to keep their houses warm, their refrigerators full and their medicine cabinets supplied, care about anyone else. They certainly don’t represent seniors who are not at the top of the pay scale.
I retired from local government after 22 years which is less than the 30 years required. Since my SS was reduced due to the WEP we are really struggling. My wife was home most of my career and has very minimal ss income. We have been living off of our savings that is being exhausted. Obtaining my full SS benefits will allow us to struggle less and not have to worry about paying bills on a month to month basis. It will provide us with about an additional $400 to $500/mo and that really matters. I feel that I earned it much like those that were not penalized.
They never mentioned the fact that service employees often held two jobs. One that paid into Social Security and the other into their retirement plans.
I taught high school in California for 34 years. Prior to public school teaching, I worked several jobs and even taught at a Catholic school and paid into social security. I I get a grand total of $132 a month from social security my daughter who was 16 when I retired only received a $132 for two years. She and I have been robbed and this robbery will continue if WEP is not repealed. I worked from the time I was 16 and paid into social security. After I retired from public school teaching, I worked at non-education jobs and paid into social security. Now I am 72 years old and get $132 a month in SS because of the WEP. How is this fair? PLEASE repeal this WEP so that we who have paid into the system STOP being robbed. Shame on a system that would continue to do this.
They never mentioned the fact that service employees often held two jobs. One that paid into Social Security and the other into their retirement plans. Congress should reform how benefits are paid out to those who receive wages for not working in the system rather than penalizing us.
I am affected by the GOP portion if I take the pension I am owed by the UK government for 20 years work. They will presently reduce my survivor benefits by 2/3rds of my UK pension. If I take my full pension here next year they will take half of it through WEP. Not fair that I am penalised for working in another country when I wasn’t even a US citizen. If it doesn’t go through I will not take the UK pension. Don’t know why they don’t just keep taking social security from those that earn higher salaries instead of capping it.
I carried mail for the USPS for 31 years. I was healthy and decided to work during those years part time in the private sector, to increase my retirement income. I cleaned offices, bagged groceries, was a security guard…any number of jobs. After retiring from USPS I find out I could only collect 40% of the money I earned for my 25 years of part time employment. A real bummer. I went back to work as a school bus driver until I was 75. Now, pushing 80, I’m still hopeful of seeing the Senate give myself, and everyone else who falls under this Regan-era abomination, what we deserve. We paid our share of taxes; do the right thing, give us our due.
HR82 has passed congress and the senate, it’s now on President Biden’s desk for signature. We have heard nothing from the President about the bill and there is nothing in the news or internet to believe he has signed it. We can not be idle and Le this bill go to veto because the President does not sign it into law. Please keep the bill going forward by engaging the media, posting on the internet asking for the President to sign this bill into law ASAP! Don’t let all the hard work be for nothing and the chance to finally make it right for those who have been treated unfairly by the WEP act.