Margaret L. Baptiste, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees’ Association (NARFE), today applauded Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) for swiftly introducing legislation in the new 111th Congress to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), Social Security laws that unjustly deny federal retirees and other public-sector retirees their earned Social Security benefits. NARFE’s President reiterated her association’s long-standing opposition to these provisions of the Social Security Act and pledged to work closely with Congress to ensure action this session. 

Baptiste thanked Reps. Berman and McKeon for introducing H.R. 235, which was immediately cosponsored by a sizable number of their House colleagues. She specifically noted the federal community’s continued appreciation for the legislators’ “tireless and steadfast efforts to deliver equity to our nation’s public servants”.     

Since 1983, the GPO has prevented retirees from collecting both their federal annuity and any Social Security benefit based on their spouse’s work. Two-thirds of the amount of the earned civil service retirement annuity is used to offset Social Security spousal or survivor benefits that might otherwise have been payable. The WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefit of a federal worker who also receives a government annuity based on his/her own work. Hundreds of thousands of retired federal civil servants, as well as other public-sector retirees, have lost Social Security income as a result of these offsets, and many annuitants are affected by both. 

Recent data indicate approximately 465,000 Social Security beneficiaries affected by the GPO, of whom about 77 percent are women, approximately 43 percent are widowed, and 75 percent have lost their entire Social Security spousal benefit. The data also showed roughly 972,000 Social Security beneficiaries affected by the WEP. 

President Baptiste highlighted NARFE’s ongoing work with other organizations to persuade Congress to address the adverse economic impact of the GPO and WEP.  For over 25 years, NARFE has led a legislative campaign to rid the Social Security Act of the GPO-WEP provisions.  NARFE chairs the Coalition to Assure Retirement Equity (CARE), comprised of over 40 national organizations representing public-sector retirees, including teachers, police officers and city workers that seek to change the law. “The GPO and WEP arbitrarily eradicate the earned Social Security benefits of far too many public-sector retirees. There is absolutely no legitimate reason for one segment of seniors being denied their Social Security benefits for which full Social Security taxes were paid,” affirmed Baptiste.