Spanberger: “The Social Security Fairness Act That We Passed Has Delivered More Than $292 Million to More Than 46,000 Virginians”
During the Event, NARFE Recognized Spanberger’s Outstanding Leadership and Commitment to Securing Virginians’ Earned Benefits
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Federation of National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (Virginia Federation of NARFE) this week honored Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for her leadership on behalf of Virginia’s retired public servants — and highlighted the more than $292 million of earned retirement benefits already delivered thanks to her Social Security Fairness Act.
The Spanberger-led law provides long overdue earned benefits for more than 3.2 million Americans — including more than 46,000 Virginians — by removing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). For more than 40 years, these two provisions of the Social Security Act unfairly reduced or eliminated retirement benefits paid into by Americans who devoted much of their careers to public service — including retired police officers, firefighters, teachers, and federal, state, and local government employees.
During Tuesday’s event, the Virginia Federation of NARFE recognized Spanberger for her determined leadership in moving the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act across the finish line and her commitment to protecting Virginians’ earned retirement benefits.
“In today’s divided political environment, it’s rare to find leaders who have earned the trust from both sides needed to take meaningful action. Congresswoman Spanberger worked relentlessly to bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass the Social Security Fairness Act — and it’s a big accomplishment for thousands of people in Virginia,” said Gaston Gianni, National Legislative Chair, Virginia Federation of NARFE. “On behalf of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, we would like to thank Congresswoman Spanberger for her outstanding leadership and her unwavering commitment to serving Virginia’s retired public servants.”
“I grew up in a household of service. My mother was a nurse and my father was a career federal agent. I watched day in and day out, my dad leave the house and go to work for a job he believed in — and to serve a mission that he was devoted to,” said Spanberger during Tuesday’s event. “As soon as I got to Congress, I knew this is something I wanted to fix.”
Spanberger continued, “Together, we built a bipartisan coalition of more than 300 Members of Congress to support my legislation — and because of our efforts, tens of thousands of Virginians are now receiving the full benefits they earned through years of service. Moving forward into the future, they will also no longer see the reduction of Social Security earned benefits because of these now removed and defunct provisions.”
According to the Social Security Administration, the agency has already sent retirees more than $14.9 billion dollars in one-time payments for retroactive Social Security benefits dating back to January 2024. Millions of Americans will begin to receive their full adjusted benefits this month.
BACKGROUND
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Spanberger worked tirelessly to deliver her legislation to the president’s desk.
Spanberger first introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2021. The bipartisan legislation earned the support of more than 300 Members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — before the end of the 117th Congress. At the start of the 118th Congress in January 2023, Spanberger reintroduced the legislation alongside U.S. Representative Garret Graves (R-LA-06).
For nearly four years, Spanberger rallied her colleagues on both sides of the aisle and congressional leadership to support her effort to solve this basic issue of fairness. The Congresswoman heard from thousands of Virginians who have been denied their hard-earned benefits. Using their stories, she advocated on behalf of this commonsense fix and the thousands of impacted Virginians.
Spanberger never stopped working to get this legislation across the finish line. In September 2024, Spanberger and Graves filed a discharge petition for their Social Security Fairness Act — which had more than 325 bipartisan cosponsors. Less than two weeks later, the petition secured the required 218 signatures needed to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House then voted to pass the Social Security Fairness Act.
Following U.S. House passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, Spanberger urged U.S. Senate leadership to swiftly vote to pass the legislation before the end of the 118th Congress. Spanberger stood in the pouring rain alongside firefighters, police officers, and federal employees during a rally at the U.S. Capitol to urge U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the legislation up for a vote before the end of the 118th Congress.
10 days later, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted to pass the legislation in December 2024. President Biden signed the Spanberger-led Social Security Fairness Act into law on January 5, 2025.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Until Spanberger’s Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law, the WEP reduced the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also received 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 saw reduced benefits, even though they paid into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits.
Likewise, the GPO affected the 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. The GPO reduced by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collected a government pension — often offsetting benefits entirely.
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