Government affairs
Legislative Updates
Today, the House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), introduced the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act (H.R. 4540), which would create a new equitable Social Security formula and provide relief to the public employees/retirees who are impacted and penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
While WEP was intended to equalize benefits for workers with similar earning histories both in and out of the Social Security system, in practice it unfairly penalized many public employees. This bill would provide relief to current Social Security beneficiaries (and those turning 62 before 2022) affected by WEP, providing them with an additional $150 a month.
For future retirees (those turning 62 in 2022 and later), they would be eligible for the new formula, which calculates benefit amounts based on the proportion of lifetime earnings covered by Social Security. The bill also includes protections, benefit guarantees, and improves language to ensure future benefit amounts will not be a surprise.
While NALC’s preference is a full repeal of WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) laid out in the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 141/S. 521), NALC is encouraged by Chairman Neal’s legislation to partially address the WEP.