In the United States, not all workers have the same opportunities when it comes to applying for a monthly Social Security check. A clear example of this is school teachers, who have a reduced monthly payment because they also receive pension income.
But the goal of this bill is to change that in order to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These two laws significantly reduce the Social Security benefits of some retirees who receive pension income, making it very unfair in many cases.
This affects nearly three million United States citizens. Among these groups are firefighters, postal workers, police officers and public school teachers. So more than a few citizens are seeing their Social Security checks go down because of the WEP and the GPO.
How do the WEP and GPO affect Social Security checks?
To better understand the situation, let’s look at the two cases separately. At the end of the day, they are not the same even though for all practical purposes we find that we have a reduction in our Social Security check.
These are the WEP and the GPO:
- WEP. It stands for Windfall Elimination Provision. The WEP reduces the Social Security payment of those who get “non-covered” pension income that comes from public sector jobs. This type of work does not pay payroll taxes, which is why it usually ultimately does not provide a retirement check the same as the rest.
- GPO. Acronym for Government Pension Offset. In the event that a pensioner’s pension is not covered, the GPO reduces survivor or spousal checks. Admittedly, it affects fewer people than the WEP, but it is also important.
The main goal of this Bill is to eliminate this unfairness altogether, making it so that citizens in these situations can have a fair Social Security check. Even so, there is still a long way to go, but what is certain is that the first step has already been taken. Little by little, Americans in this situation will be able to have a better retirement and a Social Security check commensurate with their time worked.
