Law Enforcement Group Praises Passage of Social Security Fairness Act

A law passed last week as Congress narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown to address cuts in Social security for some public sector workers was praised by law enforcement groups, despite criticism from opponents who said the cost would hasten the program’s insolvency.

On Saturday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to repeal two little-understood rules: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The legislation effectively repeals 1980 rules that reduced benefits for public employees receiving state pensions.

The bill was sent to President Biden.

In the House, 327 members and 76 senators voted in favor of about 3 million retired firefighters, police officers, teachers and other public sector workers also receiving pension payments, Mick McHale, president of the National Association of Organizations, told Fox. Police. Digital news.

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“For more than 40 years, men and women, especially in the area of ​​public safety… have been penalized as a result of the pension system they belong to,” McHale said.

Firefighters, police officers, postal workers, teachers and others with a public pension have collected reduced Social Security benefits for jobs they held in the private sector because of the WEP, which was designed to prevent the so-called double dipping of a government pension and Social Security. .

The GPO ensures that spousal benefits are adjusted to reflect public pension income in an effort to avoid overpayments from Social Security.

“This is a victory for thousands of teachers, first responders and public servants in Maine who, through service to their communities, have been forced to give up the retirement benefits they earned,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. , leading sponsor of the measure.

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Critics of the bill argued that it would cause more problems for Social Security in the future. The legislation will add $196 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called the bill “fundamentally unfair” and said it would hurt millions of people who have paid into Social Security.

“This bill would force those workers, 96% of them in the United States, to subsidize benefits that are too generous for the 4% of the workforce, those who have not participated in Social Security and instead contribute to uncovered pensions “Lee said on the Senate floor.

Despite some criticism, Congress overwhelmingly favored change the system, McHale said,

“The men and women in Congress clearly recognized the injustice that was being done when it came to a Social Security benefit that was much deserved and earned,” he said.

He acknowledged that many retirees sometimes continue to work in other areas that contribute to Social Security.

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“However, that period of time when we were in the law enforcement officersThe profession is where the penalty is applied when we reach our golden years and we should be enjoying the benefits of our efforts,” he said.