For generations, Americans have been promised that if you work hard, save and contribute to Social Security, you will be afforded a secure retirement. But today, millions of retired public servants — Americans who both paid into Social Security and worked in the public sector during their careers — are losing the benefits they rightfully earned. In Congress, I’m spearheading the bipartisan effort to put an end to this theft.
These public servants — like retired firefighters who worked a second job, retired police officers who began a second career after leaving the force, retired teachers who took a summer job, retired federal employees who first worked in the private sector — are receiving a fraction of their earned retirement benefits. Retired first responders are denied earned spousal benefits. Federal retirees, after grappling with the loss of their spouse, are denied the survivor benefits they would have received if not for joining the federal workforce.
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Spanberger
At the root of this issue are two misguided provisions that were added to the Social Security Act in 1983: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These policies unfairly reduce or eliminate retirement benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted much of their careers to public service — and paid into Social Security, just like others.
WEP currently takes away hard-earned benefits from more than 46,000 Virginians and more than two million Americans. Nearly 8,000 Virginians and 750,000 Americans have seen their Social Security benefits reduced by GPO. These are real people — not just numbers. Since first coming to Congress, I’ve heard from thousands of these Virginians.
Nancy, a retired federal employee from Orange, Virginia, worked 40 quarters in private industry — enough to qualify for Social Security — before going to work for the federal government. Upon retiring, she learned that she fell under the WEP and that her retirement income would be reduced by more than $400 each month.
Les, a former U.S. Postal Service employee from Prince William County, went to work in the private sector following his retirement from public service and accrued enough quarters to draw Social Security benefits. Les hoped to use this retirement income to pay for his health insurance. After filing for Social Security, he learned that because of these provisions, his earned benefits would not even cover half of his monthly payment.
A Virginia police officer named Francis who served his community in law enforcement for more than 30 years is ineligible to receive survivor benefits — even though his wife paid into the system — due to the GPO. Had he not opted to spend decades protecting his neighbors, he would be eligible for these earned benefits.
These stories are all too common. That’s why I’ve been leading an effort for more than four years to repeal these harmful provisions and protect the retirement benefits of Virginians and Americans across our country.
My bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act — which I lead in the U.S. House of Representatives alongside Rep. Garret Graves, a Republican from Louisiana — would address this basic issue of fairness by fully eliminating the WEP and the GPO.
This legislation, now the second-most cosponsored bill in the U.S. House, has garnered significant bipartisan support not only from fellow lawmakers but also from the public servants and advocacy groups who have been working to right this wrong for decades.
This Congress, we have a real opportunity to get this legislation across the finish line. Thanks to a bipartisan effort that Rep. Graves and I led to bypass a gridlocked Congress, this bill is coming before the House for a vote. Earlier this month, Rep. Graves and I filed a discharge petition — a rarely used procedural tool that allows lawmakers to petition to bring bills directly to the floor. In just over one week, we secured the necessary 218 signatures to force a vote on our bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act.
But time is of the essence. We only have five more voting weeks in this Congress to seize this moment, bring the bill to the House floor, and move it swiftly through the Senate to guarantee that it reaches the president’s desk by the end of the year.
As the representative for thousands of impacted current and retired public servants, I am committed to using every mechanism available to finally right this wrong for them — and for the millions of Americans who serve our communities, keep our neighbors safe, and keep our country strong.
I urge my colleagues to join us in voting to pass this bipartisan legislation when it comes to the floor, and I urge the U.S. Senate to follow our lead. By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, we can deliver long overdue relief to America’s public servants — and the benefits they rightfully earned to their bank accounts.
From the Archives: The Central National Bank building
Central National Bank
02-05-1968: Central National Bank
Central National Bank
05-01-1977 (cutline): Arch at end of banking hall.
Central National Bank
06-30-1977: Central National Bank ceiling detail.
Central National Bank
10-09-1991 (cutline): Central Fidelity Bank’s tower tapers as it rises. Shields Building is in the foreground.
Central National Bank
11-27-1976 (cutline): “Supermodern” is what an officer calls the main office banking lobby in the Broad and Grace Streets Arcade of Central National Bank. The area consists of about 14,000 square feet and will open on Monday, December 6. The lobby is party of a $4 million renovation of the arcade and portions of the banks main building at Third and Broad Streets. The renovation includes a small park in a corner of the bank property. Renovations for the entire project are about half completed, a bank spokesman said yesterday. Overall designers are Hankins and Anderson of Richmond.
Central National Bank
02-01-1978 (cutline): Workmen have begun dismantling Central National Bank’s weather sign atop its office and Central National Corp. headquarters at Third and Broad streets. A replacement sign with blue C-N-B letters on a white background is to be installed within the next two weeks, a bank spokesman said. He declined to discuss other details, saying that the bank is planning a ceremony when the installation is completed.
Central National Bank
06-30-1977: Central National Bank
Central National Bank
02-12-1981 (cutline): Central Fidelity Bank lobby’s Art Deco magnificence sets scene for post-concert party.
Abigail Spanberger represents Virginia’s 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Contact her Washington office at (202) 225-2815 or via email form on her website at spanberger.house.gov. If you need assistance, contact Spanberger’s district office at (703) 987-2180.
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