1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) threaten the Social Security benefits of millions of retired teachers, support staff and other public employees every day. Together, these two provisions unfairly penalize retirees in states across the country and in Puerto Rico who have worked in public service but in their careers paid into Social Security. While current law does not impact every retiree in every state, the people affected feel real economic pain. For example, the GPO denies survivor benefits to retired teachers, support staff and other public employees whose spouses paid into Social Security, disproportionately impacting women, who are already more likely to be impoverished as they get older. The U.S. Senate can right this wrong by voting yes on the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, a bill that would fully repeal the WEP and GPO. The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted by an overwhelming majority to support the repeal of these bad provisions. It’s time for the Senate to act!