U.S. House passes bill to repeal WEP, GPO

Social Security Fairness Act moves on to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain

By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

Nov. 13, 2024 – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Social Security Fairness Act, a measure that would repeal two Social Security offsets that impact 2.8 million Americans, including more than 265,000 Ohioans.

Known also as H.R. 82, the act would do away with the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which reduce Social Security benefits for many workers who also have a pension based on non-Social Security-covered earnings.

H.R. 82 is now headed for the Senate, where its future is uncertain. Opponents have pointed out that the bill would run an estimated $196 billion over 10 years and that no funds have been set aside to cover the extra cost.

The House bill had 330 cosponsors but recently appeared to be stalled after some maneuvering by several members of that chamber. But on Nov. 12, it passed under suspension of the rules, by a vote of 327-75. All 15 members of the Ohio House delegation voted in favor of the bill.

The measure’s passage followed years of work by its main sponsors, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. The representatives released a statement that read in part:

“By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives showed up for the millions of Americans — police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other local and state public servants — who worked a second job to make ends meet or began a second career to support their families after retiring from public service. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted to provide a secure retirement to the hundreds of thousands of spouses, widows, and widowers who are denied their spouses’ Social Security benefits simply because they chose careers of service.

“These tireless advocates have for decades urged their elected representatives to listen to their stories and correct this injustice — and today, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted for them. For more than 40 years, the Social Security trust funds have been artificially propped up by stolen benefits that millions of Americans paid for and that their families deserve.” 

Also this week, an effort to pass the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act, which would reform, rather than repeal, the WEP, failed to pass.

OPERS staff will continue to follow the progress of H.R. 82 in the coming weeks and provide updates as they become available. Earlier this year we posted a blog that took an in-depth look at the issue.

Michael Pramik

Michael Pramik is communication strategist for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and editor of the PERSpective blog. As an experienced business journalist, he clarifies complex pension policies and helps members make smart choices to secure their retirement.