AFGE Reacts to Bipartisan Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown
September 30, 2023
Congress passed a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government through November 17, 2023.
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AFGE Supports Legislation Repealing Unfair Social Security Rules
September 26, 2022
Categories:
Social Security, The Insider
Did you know that you could lose two-thirds or even the entire amount of your Social Security benefit under two rules that penalize public servants?
Meet the government pension offset (GPO) and the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which have been in place since 1983.
Who are penalized under these rules and how?
- GPO penalizes public servants who receive a government pension and are also eligible for Social Security benefits of their spouse. This provision reduces survivors’ benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers.
- WEP penalizes those who have paid into Social Security at work but also receive a pension or a disability benefit from a prior employer that did not withhold Social Security payroll taxes, such as older federal retirees working under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), state and local government employees including teachers.
AFGE strongly opposes GPO and WEP and is urging Congress to pass H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021, which would repeal these two unfair provisions. The bill passed the House Ways and Means Committee Sept. 20.
“AFGE represents federal employees who receive Social Security benefits as retirees or thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration who deliver essential benefits to the American public including retirees, children, widows, and widowers,” said Daniel Horowitz, AFGE deputy director of legislation, in a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee chairman and ranking member before the vote. “We have supported repeal of GPO and WEP since their inception as we have witnessed the unfair reduction in earned benefits. The bill has 299 cosponsors in this Congress and has always drawn significant bipartisan support. We are encouraged to see the Ways and Means Committee move forward with this essential legislation.”
It is unclear when the bill will go to the House floor.
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