Congress Passes Social Security Fairness Act, King Champions in Ohio

COLUMBUS - State Representative Angie King (R-Celina) is proud to announce the U.S. Congress has passed the Social Security Fairness Act recently. King is the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 6 calling on Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset to give public servants that pay into Social Security their full benefits upon retirement.

The Federal Social Security Fairness Act passed through the U.S. Senate Chamber in the final session Saturday before Congress resets next year. This act will eliminate WEP and GPO allowing public employees that pay into state sponsored retirement systems to receive their full social security benefits.

“This was long overdue and I was proud to have led the charge in Ohio to urge Congress to repeal WEP and GPO,” said King. “State and local workers deserve the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned. This is fantastic news for Ohio’s dedicated public servants.”

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) was enacted in 1983 as a modified benefits program for employees who receive a pension for their public service. Under the WEP, public employees can have their Social Security earning potential lowered by up to 50% due to also earning a public pension. There are currently more than 1.7 million people in Ohio’s Public Retirement System that would be affected by WEP and currently 450,000 beneficiaries.

People who currently have reductions in their Social Security benefits under the exceptions would soon see a boost in their monthly payments once the Social Security Fairness Act is signed by President Biden.