H.R. 82 passes, will affect the retirement of government workers

Congress passed the H.R.82 Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Graves, Garret [R-LA-6] on Jan. 9, 2023. On Friday, Dec. 20, the Senate voted 76-20 with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Jan. 5, 2025. According to the congressional website, the “bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.”

“The bill eliminates the government pension offset, which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.”

“The bill also eliminates the windfall elimination provision, which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.”

According to area representative Carolyn Lance, “Director of Communications for TRS and found that we have 813 annuitants for the 2024 year.” The Communications Director is researching the number of those who are 65+ who may be eligible for SS benefits.

According to Lauren Underwood, an Illinois representative. Retired teachers are not the only ones affected by this change “Under the Social Security Fairness Act, over 2.1 million retirees on Social Security will receive an average increase of $360 per month. Furthermore, over 700,000 surviving spouses will see an increase between $700 and $1,190 in their monthly benefits, on average.“ Workers like “teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public sector workers,” will be affected by this change too.

According to Congressman Nathaniel Moran’s (R-TX-01), website, he voted “to support Congressman Jodey Arrington’s (R-TX-19) H.R. 5342, the Equal Treatment of Public Services Act, to provide a legislative fix to ensure teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other public servants receive what they contribute to Social Security instead of H.R. 82, in which he was 1 of 8 to oppose the bill.”

According to Moran’s website, he chose to vote against the bill because “while H.R. 82 is well-intentioned, it over-corrects on the issue and will provide more benefits than were earned by some currently caught in WEP issue. Further, H.R. 82 will cost almost eight times more than the proposal by Jodey Arrington (H.R. 5343) and it will cause Social Security Trust Fund to become insolvent six months faster than its current expected demise. This will result in a far-reaching negative impact for all retirees,” said Congressman Moran. “I have remained committed to shoring up the Social Security Trust Fund, and unfortunately passage of H.R. 82 will do the opposite for all beneficiaries, not just those impacted by the WEP.”

“The House passed H.R. 82 with a vote of 327 to 75; H.R. 5342 failed with a vote of 175 to 225.”

“The Windfall Elimination Provision unfairly impacts the retirement of teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other public servants, and we need fair treatment for all,” said Congressman Moran. “Public servants work hard and plan retirement around their lifetime earnings only to find out they will receive a fraction of what they earned.” Said Moran.

“For this reason, I cosponsored and voted to support Congressman Arrington’s legislation,” continued Congressman Moran. “The Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act would fix WEP by addressing the underlying issues in a responsible way leaving seniors, taxpayers, and the Social Security Trust Fund in good stead. I believe this is the right solution to meet our responsibility to our seniors and American taxpayers.”

In the Senate, Ted Cuz voted no, and John Cornyn. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2023.