Biden Signs Social Security Fairness Act, Eliminating GPO-WEP Rules

In a significant move for public service retirees, President Biden has enacted the Social Security Fairness Act, effectively abolishing the longstanding Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). These rules had been criticized for negatively impacting public sector retirees for four decades.

President Biden emphasized the importance of the Act during the signing ceremony, stating, "Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity. By signing this bill, we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses and other public employees and their spouses and survivors."

The event featured Bette Marafino, a community college professor who retired and is part of Connecticut Retiree Chapter 4. Marafino, who played a pivotal role in advocating for the repeal of GPO-WEP, shared personal stories about how her grandparents relied on Social Security benefits to avoid poverty.

Upon the signing of the bill, AFSCME President Lee Saunders celebrated the end of the GPO-WEP regulations. In a statement, he declared, "Finally, GPO-WEP is gone for good. These outdated rules denied over two million retired public service workers their hard-earned Social Security benefits."

The repeal is attributed to the vigorous advocacy efforts by AFSCME members, labor allies, and Congressional supporters such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and Rep. Garret Graves. These efforts ensured that public service workers can now look forward to a more secure retirement.

Saunders expressed gratitude to President Biden for this decisive win for public service workers and highlighted the relentless activism of AFSCME members. He noted, "AFSCME members, both on the job and already retired, along with fellow public service workers nationwide, organized petitions, letter-writing campaigns, called representatives in Congress and even traveled to DC to demand answers face-to-face."

In the past year, there have been over 8,000 phone calls and 28,000 letters sent by activists to their elected officials, culminating in this major legislative victory for public service workers nationwide.