AFGE members attended a field hearing in Columbus, Ohio, on legislation that would repeal two provisions of the current law that unfairly reduce Social Security benefits government employees have earned.
The hearing was hosted by Sen. Sherrod Brown who has introduced the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 597), a bill that would repeal the two provisions and restore full Social Security benefits for government workers, including AFGE members.
AFGE submitted a statement for record from Marlena Slaughter, an AFGE member living in Columbus, Ohio, who has been harmed by the government pension offset (GPO) and the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which have been in place since 1983.
Our union believes that aging should not be a burden on society. After a lifetime of hard work, older Americans should be valued. But the WEP and GPO are unfair attacks on retirees.
Here’s why AFGE urges Congress to repeal the two provisions:
Although nearly all current federal workers are in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), the majority of the nearly 3 million current federal retirees are covered by CSRS and highly vulnerable to having earned Social Security benefits taken away unfairly by the WEP/GPO.
“After working as a public servant for over 30 years, I retired ten years ago after suffering from stenosis in my spine and needing a rod surgically implanted. Prior to my government service, I had worked for nearly ten years at several different hospitals,” said Marlena Slaughter, a retired member of AFGE Local 1148 and District 6 Retiree coordinator who worked at the Defense Supply Center (DSC) in Columbus, Ohio. “I worked hard to earn my Social Security benefits, and it is devastating that my modest benefits are being taken from me. These penalties really hurt my finances, making it difficult to get by and enjoy my so-called golden years.”
Social Security benefits are modest to begin with – the average in February 2024 was about $1,862 a month, not enough to meet the basic needs in many areas. Benefits are also lower than those in many developed nations. Social Security benefits need to be expanded, not cut. And one way to do that is to eliminate the GPO and WEP so that working families receive the fair benefits they have paid into.
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