September 3, 2015
The Honorable Sherrod Brown
713 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, D.C., 20510
Dear Senator Brown:
On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I write to endorse your legislation, S. 1651, the “Social Security Fairness Act of 2015,” which will repeal both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions of the Social Security Act.
Since their enactment over 30 years ago, these provisions have unfairly prevented millions of Americans including teachers, firefighters, and police officers from receiving the Social Security benefits that they have earned. Instead of receiving the benefits they’ve paid for through their work and earnings, the WEP slashes the amount received by public servants, leaving them with payments that are a fraction of what they otherwise would have received. Making matters worse, those who are subjected to the GPO experience even more massive cuts in their benefits; in most cases reducing otherwise payable spousal benefits to zero.
Unfortunately, the federal, state and local public service employees who are affected by these provisions often are unaware of the substantial cuts awaiting them when they file for Social Security benefits, making retirement planning difficult if not impossible.
For these reasons, we agree with you that the time has come when these provisions should be repealed. We look forward to working with you to secure the passage of the “Social Security Fairness Act,” and thank you for your leadership on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Max Richtman
President and CEO