Congress passes Cantwell-cosponsored bill to give 40,000 Washingtonians higher Social Security payments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) celebrated the passage of the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, which she co-sponsored. 

The bill repeals two Social Security policies that unfairly limit payments for people who also receive a pension from a job that is not covered by Social Security, as well as their surviving spouses and widow(ers).

"For nearly 40 years, outdated policies have unfairly penalized some public servants like firefighters and teachers from receiving the full Social Security benefits they have earned,” said Sen. Cantwell.

“The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act will help ensure that these public servants, including over 40,000 Washingtonians, receive the same level of Social Security as other Americans.”

The bill passed the Senate 76-20 after passing the House of Representatives last month. It now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

The Social Security Fairness Act:Repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduces Social Security benefits for people who paid into both civil service pensions and Social Security, typically state and local government employees.

• In 2023, the WEP reduced benefits for 35,417 Washingtonians.
• Repeals the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces spousal and widow(er) Social Security benefits for people receiving pensions from a government job not covered by Social Security.
• In 2023, the GPO reduced benefits for 7,115 Washingtonians.
• Goes into effect immediately once signed into law and will allow for retroactive payments for people affected by the WEP and GPO in 2024.

Many of the people affected by these policies are retired public employees like teachers, firefighters, and police officers. Combined, the WEP and GPO have limited Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people nationwide, including over 40,000 Washingtonians in 2023.

Nationally, since 2018, about 28% of state and local government employees who are covered by alternative staff retirement systems are affected by these limitations, in addition to permanent federal civilian employees who were hired before January 1, 1984, and are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which has since been replaced by a newer federal retirement system.

Sen. Cantwell has been a steadfast defender of Social Security in the Senate. Sen. Cantwell also worked to pass bipartisan legislation to allow tribal governments to “opt in” to Social Security, pay the related taxes, and receive the retirement program’s benefits.