Spanberger Relaunches Survey on Social Security Benefits of Retired Law Enforcement, Firefighters, Federal Employees, & Other Public Servants

As Momentum Grows, the Congresswoman is Gathering Stories from Virginians Who Have Had Their Benefits Cut by the Windfall Elimination Provision & Government Pension Offset

In February 2023, Spanberger Reintroduced the Bipartisan “Social Security Fairness Act” to Eliminate the WEP & GPO

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today relaunched her survey to hear from Virginia federal employees, police officers, firefighters, local government employees, and other public servants who have been denied their hard-earned Social Security benefits due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Spanberger relaunched her survey to hear from Virginians whose benefits have been cut by the WEP and GPO — two provisions that were added to the Social Security Act in 1983 that unfairly reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted much of their careers to public service. The WEP impacts approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.

In January 2023 at the start of the 118th Congress, Spanberger and U.S. Representative Garret Graves (R-LA-06) reintroduced  the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act to eliminate these provisions and protect the retirement benefits of Virginians. This Congress, the legislation has earned 325 bipartisan cosponsors — more than enough support to guarantee the legislation would pass on the U.S. House floor. Spanberger will use these stories to continue pushing U.S. House leadership to bring this legislation to the floor for a vote.

Virginians can click here to complete Spanberger’s brief survey.

“No American should be penalized for a career in public service — and every Virginia federal employee, police officer, firefighter, postal worker, air traffic controller, and local government employee deserves the Social Security benefits they have rightfully earned during their careers. But right now, millions of Americans are denied the full benefits they paid into,” said Spanberger. “As the representative of thousands of Virginians who have dedicated their careers to public service, I’m working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix this long-standing inequity and protect the benefits of retirees who are impacted by the WEP and GPO. I hope that every Virginian who has been unfairly penalized will share their experience with me.”

Spanberger originally introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2021.

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