President Biden signs Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 into law, repealing two decades-old federal laws that penalized public workers and their families

The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset

In a monumental and life-changing day for public workers and their families in Maine and throughout the nation, President Biden today signed the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 (H.R. 82/S.597) into law, repealing the decades-old Social Security Offsets formally known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Among those attending the signing ceremony at The White House was Caribou resident Ginette Rivard on behalf of her union, the Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, whose members for decades have advocated for repealing the offsets.

The repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset is retroactive to January 2024, so those who have been harmed by these unfair federal laws will start getting the Social Security benefits they are owed retroactive to January 2024.

President Biden’s signing of the Social Security Fairness Act into law follows historic votes in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives that will strengthen the retirement security for millions of workers throughout the United States, including tens of thousands of Mainers.

“After just over four decades of the Windfall Elimination Provision and nearly five decades of the Government Pension Offset, both of which have robbed public workers of their much-deserved full Social Security benefits, enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act is the result of a long and arduous fight by labor unions and rank-and-file union members for years,” said Steve Butterfield of Hallowell, who serves as a retiree director on the board of directors of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989. The labor union represents thousands of Maine workers impacted by the WEP and GPO, known collectively as the Social Security Offsets.

“Public sector workers can now enjoy the full value of the Social Security benefits that they have paid for through their work careers but have never been able to enjoy. These benefits will aid all retired public sector workers to have a better lifestyle,” Butterfield said. “Thank you to President Biden, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for recognizing this long-term injustice and bringing it to an end. We especially thank Maine’s entire congressional delegation – Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Jared Golden – for all of their work to repeal the Social Security Offsets. Millions of current and future retirees will stand a better chance of achieving retirement security with the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act.”

The Social Security Fairness Act will strengthen the retirement security of participants in the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.

Caribou resident and MSEA-SEIU Retiree Director Ginette Rivard worked for nearly 25 years in the children’s behavioral health unit for Maine DHHS in Caribou and served as president of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 from 2011 to 2015. She attended today’s signing ceremony at The White House on behalf of her union, MSEA-SEIU Local 1989.

“Passage of the Social Security Fairness Act is a game changer,” said Rivard, who serves as an MSEA-SEIU retiree director and chair of the MSEA-SEIU Retirees Steering Committee. “Between the GPO and the WEP, I have been receiving about a third of what I would have been otherwise eligible for had I not worked in the public sector following my years in the private sector. Repealing these provisions will enable me to live my retirement years with the assurance that I can meet my living expenses. Senator Collins has long understood the impact these unfair provisions have on so many, and I deeply appreciate her sponsoring this legislation.”

Penny Whitney-Asdourian, a retiree from Scarborough, worked for over 33 years for the Judicial Branch of Maine State Government. She said she and her husband, a retired firefighter, have been hit hard by the Windfall Elimination Provision. They are thrilled that The Social Security Fairness Act has been signed into law.

“We have been losing over $1,000 a month in Social Security benefits due to the Windfall Elimination Provision,” Whitney-Asdourian said. “While an extra $12,000 a year may not sound like a lot to many people, it certainly is a lot of money to us. It would pay our property taxes, our homeowners’ insurance, and make a huge dent in our heating expenses during the Maine winters. For many retirees, especially older retirees who have been retired for many years, getting the Social Security retirement benefits that they paid into can mean the end to food and fuel insecurity. I cannot think of a better way to care for our seniors. The bipartisan support for this bill was amazing, and I hope the senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives who voted to repeal the Social Security Offsets realize that the prayers of many public pension recipients have finally been realized.”

Another MSEA-SEIU retiree member, Tony Gonzales of Milo, worked for MaineDOT for 25 years, retiring in 2018. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years in the private sector, where he paid into the Social Security system.

“In April of 2018, my Social Security benefits statement said I would receive $1,000 a month,” Gonzales said. However, “when I retired, I was informed that because of the Windfall Elimination Provision, I would receive 40% of the $1,000 a month that I paid for — $400 instead of $1,000! I have paid a $600 monthly penalty now for going on seven years. I pay close attention to my expenses as they rise at multiples of what my income does. I heat my home with wood, getting up in the night to feed the boiler, heat pumps and very little oil. The $600 a month that I paid for but that I currently don’t get will make my life easier. I would like to thank all of the people involved for doing what’s right. That is the right thing to do. Thank you again for righting this wrong. I only want the benefit I paid for.”

MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 and its international union, the Service Employees International Union, have strongly supported repealing the Social Security Offsets so that public employees could begin collecting the Social Security benefits they earned. Both the WEP and GPO have been robbing public service workers and their spouses of retirement benefits they earned:

• The WEP changed the formula used to calculate benefit amounts that retirees earned while working in a system covered by Social Security; the WEP has been affecting people who earned a pension working for a government agency and also worked at jobs where they paid Social Security taxes long enough to qualify for retirement or disability benefits. The WEP thus has chipped away at the retirement benefits of a retiree who worked both in the private and public sectors. Over 21,000 Maine workers were penalized by the WEP, according to a Congressional Research Service report dated Feb. 28, 2024.
• The GPO has reduced public employees’ Social Security or survivor benefits by an amount equal to two-thirds of their public pensions. As a result, the GPO sharply reduced – and in most cases eliminated – the Social Security spousal benefit for workers who receive public pensions, even though their deceased spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years. Over 8,000 Mainers were penalized by the GPO as of December 2023, according to a report by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

“This is a momentous day for MSEA members and the millions of hard-working Americans who dedicated years of their working lives in service to the public,” MSEA-SEIU President Mark Brunton said. “Millions of current and future retirees will stand a better chance of achieving retirement security with the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act. Our thanks go to President Biden for signing it into law so that everyone can finally start receiving the Social Security benefits they have earned. Thanks also go to the members of Maine’s congressional delegation for their steady support, and to our active and retired MSEA members who kept the pressure on elected officials. Their sustained effort made this happen.”