By Staff

Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, on Sunday announced the signing by President Joe Biden of her bipartisan “Social Security Fairness Act.”

The new law eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset added to the Social Security Act in 1983. The regulations reduced or eliminated earned Social Security retirement benefits of millions of Americans including police officers, firefighters and federal government employees, according to a news release.

“Today, we put an end to this theft,” Spanberger said in a statement Jan. 5. “Today at the White House, I watched President Biden sign my Social Security Fairness Act into law with thousands of Virginians on my mind — every police officer, firefighter, federal employee, and grieving spouse I’ve heard from who has long been denied their full benefits.”

Everyone who paid into Social Security should be able to count on their full earned benefits to support them in retirement, she said.

“For nearly 50 years, the federal government has shamefully stolen fire fighters’ retirements. Fire fighters already struggle with low wages in much of the nation, and the WEP/GPO was a further insult that forced them to continue struggling in retirement,” said Edward A. Kelly, general president, International Association of Fire Fighters. “The IAFF is proud to have partnered with Rep. Spanberger in leading the fight to repeal these penalties and return fire fighters’ dignified retirements.”

National Rural Letter Carriers’ President Don Maston called it a historic day for retirees.

“Now that the Social Security Fairness Act is law, rural letter carriers and other retirees who were impacted by WEP and GPO will receive the retirement benefits they have rightfully earned,” he said in a statement.

Ensuring a fair and secure retirement demonstrates respect for workers who help their communities, said Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president, adding it’s how they recruit and retain the next generation.

The former regulations reduced earned Social Security benefits for an individual also receiving a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who did not earn Social Security in public schools but who worked part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security had reduced benefits, even though they paid into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits, according to the release.

Regulations also affected spousal benefits of people who worked as federal, state or local government employees — including police officers, firefighters and educators — if the job was not covered by Social Security.