Letter received from Congressman Lamar Smith:

LAMAR SMITH                                                                                            2409 Rayburn House Office Building

21st District, Texas                                                                                    Washington, DC 20515

http://lamarsmith.house.gov                                                                     (202) 225-4236

Committee on the Judiciary                                                                       FAX: (202) 225-8628

Committee on Science

Committee on Homeland Security

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives

August 14, 2008

John L. Creswell, President

NARFE Chapter 672

1771 Oakmont Circle

New Braunfels, TX 78132-3846

Dear Mr. Creswell,

I wanted to provide you with information regarding the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

The GPO was first established in 1977, before I was elected to Congress.  Prior to the enactment of the GPO, a spouse who worked for the government could collect both their own benefit and one-half of their spouse's benefit.  Without the GPO, a couple who worked for the government and Social Security would receive more than a couple who worked under Social Security alone.

The Social Security GPO affects more than 5 million Americans.  These employees are part of the thousands of state, local and federal government pension plans that operte outside of Social Security.

The offset reduces Social Security benefits that a person receives as a spouse if he or she also has a government pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security.  The "dual entitlement rule" requires that Social Security benefits earned as a worker are offset from any Social Security spousal benefit for which the worker is eligible to receive.  The GPO is an attempt to give similar treatment to spouses whether or not they are eligible for Social Security benefits or a government pension.

Before a change in the law in 2004, an employee could avoid the GPO so long as they worked their last day in a position covered by Social Security.  After that change, an employee now must work their last 60 calendar months in a position covered by Social Security to avoid the offset.

Legislation regarding the GPO has been introduced in the 110th Congress.  H.R. 82, the "Social Security Fairness Act of 2007," was introduced on January 4, 2007.  This legislation eliminates the GPO for Social Security benefits payable after December 2007.  It also repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision.  It is estimated that the elimination of the GPO would cost $41.7 billion over 10 years and increase Social Security's long-range deficit by about three percent.  H.R. 82 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee where no legislative action has been taken (by) this Congress.

With respect to the WEP, I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 2772, the "Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2007."  This legislation repeals the current Windfall Elimination Provision and replaces the WEP with a formula that gives equal treatment to public servants for the years they contributed to Social Security.  This legislation was also referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

I am also a co-sponsor of H.R. 1110, which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow Federal civilian and military retirees to pay health insurance premiums on a pretax basis and to allow a deduction for TRICARE supplemental premiums.  H.R. 1110 has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means and Armed Services Committees.

While I am not a member of these committees, be assured that I will have your thoughts in mind should these issues come before the House.  It is important that any legislation impacting the GPO and WEP is fair and fiscally responsible.

Again, thank you for your interest.  Please let me know if you would like any additional information on these issues.

Sincerely,

(signed by) Lamar Smith

Member of Congress