Bills to totally repeal both the WEP and GPO have been introduced over many years and while they sometimes draw the support of a majority of the House. Image: zimmytws/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffRecently offered legislation (HR-5342) in the House would reduce—but not eliminate—the “windfall elimination provision” that reduces the Social Security benefits of those who primarily worked under a retirement system that does not include Social Security, including the federal CSRS system.
The WEP reduces a Social Security benefit the person earned through other employment—typically before or after a federal career but in some cases during a career through work on the side—if the person had less than 30 years of earnings above a designated level. The maximum reduction works out to above $500 a month and is not as severe for those with between 20 and 30 years of such earnings.
The bipartisan bill, with some two dozen cosponsors, would replace that formula with one that more closely reflects an individual’s actual work history, sponsors said. For those already retired—which is the case with the large majority of those covered by CSRS—there would be a partial restoration of the reduction, while for those not yet retired, the new formula would result in a lesser reduction than currently.
The “Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act” however would not address a separate provision, the “government pension offset” that reduces and in many cases eliminates a spousal or survivor Social Security benefit for those drawing a CSRS annuity.
Bills to totally repeal both the WEP and GPO have been introduced over many years and while they sometimes draw the support of a majority of the House—as has one (HR-82) introduced earlier this year—they never have been brought to a floor vote.
The NARFE organization said that while its “ultimate goal is for Congress to fully repeal the WEP and the GPO, reform efforts such as the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act are a good first step toward correcting this discriminatory provision. What’s crucial now is for members of both parties to seek common ground and finally provide relief to WEP-affected retirees.”
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