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Fairness is returning to Social Security for millions of retired fire fighters, police officers, teachers, and other public employees.

By a vote of 76 to 20, the United States Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act early Saturday morning – bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

“For over 40 years, retired fire fighters and other public servants have had their retirement benefits stolen by the United States Congress. But today, the United States Senate, in a rarely seen bi-partisan effort, stood up to say, ‘No more,’ voting to ensure retirees finally get the benefits they paid into and earned,” said General President Edward Kelly. “This bill will improve the lives of millions of retired public servants.”

The bill now heads to the White House for signing and enactment into law.

The vote to repeal the WEP and GPO came just one week after the IAFF-led labor rally at the Capitol. Leaders from America’s largest labor unions and members of Congress, including current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), joined Kelly at the event to call for the repeal of the two penalties.

“I want to thank our brothers and sisters from organized labor who stood with us to get this bill passed, and our friends on Capitol Hill who voted to right this decades-old wrong,” said Kelly.

Currently, more than 2 million retired public service workers are impacted by the WEP and GPO, with many seeing more than a $500 reduction in their benefits each month. Had the Social Security Fairness Act failed to pass this Congress, the Congressional Budget Office expected another $195 billion in Social Security benefits to be withheld from retirees over the next 10 years.

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For over 40 years, retired fire fighters and other public servants have had their retirement benefits stolen by the United States Congress. But today, the United Sates Senate, in a rarely seen bipartisan effort, stood up to say no more, voting to ensure retirees finally get the benefits they paid into and earned. - Ed Kelly

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Repealing WEP/GPO wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of the thousands of IAFF members who contacted their lawmakers and urged them to vote in favor of the bill. More than 30,000 individual emails were sent to members of Congress through the IAFF’s Advocacy Center demanding passage of the legislation.

“It was incredible to see how many members contacted their Senators and told them where fire fighters stood on restoring dignity to retirement,” said Kelly. “Our members made a real difference in getting this bill over the finish line.”

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I want to thank our brothers and sisters from organized labor who stood with us to get this bill passed, and our friends on Capitol Hill who voted to right this decades-old wrong. - Ed Kelly

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The Social Security Fairness Act was the most bipartisan bill introduced this Congress, having more than 300 members in the House and 62 Senators signing onto the legislation as co-sponsors.

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