Social Security benefits are typically based on a taxpayer’s earnings history. Exceptions exist for certain government workers who are covered by separately funded pension plans if their wages were exempt from Social Security withholding.
For decades, the windfall elimination provision and government pension offset have reduced the Social Security benefits for some public-sector workers. In recent weeks, Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal the WEP and GPO entirely. The bill, awaiting President Joe Biden's signature, will also provide retroactive Social Security benefits for public workers whose benefits were reduced during the 2024 tax year.
We asked two professors and authors of ALM’s Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about Congress’ recent decision to repeal the WEP and GPO completely.
Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.
Their Votes:
Their Reasons:
Bloink: The WEP and GPO provisions have unfairly stripped many low-income government and public workers of the benefits they deserve. We’re talking about firefighters, police, teachers and others who have dedicated their careers to public service. By comparison to government benefits, Social Security provides relatively higher benefits to the lowest-income Americans. It’s fundamentally unfair that these public servants should see their benefits reduced simply because a portion of their careers were spent in public service jobs that offer pension benefits when they’ve earned their rightful Social Security benefits.
