Getting Rid of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision

“There is a lot of talk about expanding and improving Social Security, but no one is saying anything about getting rid of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Despite the repeal bills currently in Congress, (H.R.973 and S.1651), there is nothing being said about how badly these offsets affect the FULLY-EARNED benefits of retired public employees...

“GPO—At least 615,000 retirees are affected by the GPO; 74% of those affected have lost ALL their Social Security retirement benefits; 81% of those affected are women. Women affected by the GPO have lower pensions than men… The GPO is a direct attack against families.  Parents who stay home and care for children usually lose all their spousal benefits, and they often don’t get any survivor benefits as well.

“WEP—More than 1.5 million people are affected by the WEP. It harms low-income retirees more than those with larger pensions. Everyone knows that the formula and premise are wrong.  People are punished by not earning Social Security in their work as public servants, and then they are punished again when they retire by losing what they had already earned in other work (Congressional Research Report).

“THE COST TO REPEAL BOTH OFFSETS WOULD BE LESS THAN 2% OF WHAT IS PAID OUT TO OTHER RETIREES IN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS!

“Below is a list of addresses. Please MAIL each of these organizations a personal message or email them from the links below…”

AARP
National Policy Council
Association of Retired Americans
601 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20049
member@aarp.org

AARP has a National Policy Council that makes decisions about what legislation to support. They used to be against repeal. We helped them change their position. They are currently neutral about the offsets. They need to know more. They need to know how the offsets affect retirees. YOU can be a member of the National Policy Council! Go to aarp.org/npc and apply by February 28.

Social Security Works
Nancy Altman
Social Security Works
815 16th St NW Fourth Floor
Washington, DC 20006
www.socialsecurityworks.org
Social Security Works is an activist group supported by a number of unions. They have not paid attention to our issue. They need to know more about GPO/WEP and what happens to us.

National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare

Max Richtman, President
NCPSSM
10 G Street NE Suite 600
Washington DC 20002
 800.966.1935
www.ncpssm.org
This group has studied the GPO and WEP and has endorsed the current repeal bills. Thank them and let them know how you have been affected.

Alliance for Retired Americans

Richard Fiesta, Executive Director
Alliance for Retired Americans
815 16th St., N.W., 4th floor
Washington, D.C., 20006
retiredamericans.org/contact-us
This is a group of active seniors who have ratified a resolution to support the repeal of the offsets. They need to know how the offsets have affected you. Please encourage them to do more!

Older Women’s League OWL

Margaret Hellie Huyck, President
Older Women’s League
1627 Eye St., N.W. Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20006

info@owl-national.org
This group is particularly interested in issues affecting older women. They have been understanding, but they need to hear more stories.

American Association of University Women
Patricia Fae Ho, Board Chair
AAUW
1111 Sixteenth St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
202.785.7700   800.326.2289

connect@aauw.org
You can write the Board of Directors from this link:
http://www.aauw.org/who-we-are/leadership-and-staff/board-of-directors/

If you belong to another group that should be supporting this cause, please let us know at ssfairness@gmail.com . You can also respond on the Social Security Fairness blog: click here. Thank you!