For years, public workers have received reduced Social Security benefits because of two provisions in the Social Security Act: 1983’s Windfall Elimination Provision and 1977’s Government Pension Offset Provision. Those provisions, which prevent workers from receiving full benefits, are being addressed in the House on Tuesday during the lame-duck postelection period of Congress.
If public workers have jobs in which they pay into their Social Security and receive pension benefits, the two provisions alter the total Social Security benefits the worker receives. The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, also known as H.R. 82, would amend Title II of the Social Security Act, eliminating the WEP and the GPO and allowing public workers to receive their full benefits regardless of their jobs and how their Social Security is paid into.
