Senator Collins’ Social Security Fairness Act to be Signed into Law
Bill authored by Senator Collins and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to ensure that teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other public servants – including more than 25,000 Mainers – receive their full Social Security benefits passed the Senate today with 76 votes.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Susan Collins and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), by a vote of 76-20. This bill, which passed the House last month by a vote of 327-75, will restore full Social Security benefits for teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other public servants by repealing two provisions of current law – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits that public employees receive.
Earlier this year, Senators Collins and Brown called on Senate leadership to immediately bring their legislation, which has 62 Senate cosponsors—above the margin needed for passage—to the Senate floor for a vote. Senator Collins held the first Senate hearing on this policy in 2003 as Chair of the Senate Government Affairs Committee. She along with the late Senator Dianne Feinstein first introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in 2005.
“In 2003, I held the first-ever Senate hearing on the WEP and the GPO, and I am pleased that now these unfair provisions in our Social Security system will finally be done away with,” said Senator Collins. “This is a victory for thousands of teachers, first responders, and public servants in Maine, who through service to their communities have been forced to forego their earned retirement benefits. I thank my colleagues for the overwhelming support this legislation has received, as it will help millions of Americans retire with dignity and receive the Social Security benefits they earned through years of work.”
More than 25,000 Mainers, who dedicated their lives to public service, are prevented from receiving the full Social Security benefits they earn due to two laws from the 1970s and 1980s. The Windfall Elimination Provision, enacted in 1983, reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government for employment not covered by Social Security. The Government Pension Offset, enacted in 1977, reduces Social Security spousal benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers whose spouses receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government.
The Social Security Fairness Act will repeal both of these laws, ensuring teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, park rangers, and other public sector workers and their families receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned.
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