Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
Key claim: The Social Security Fairness Act repeals the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision, ending reductions in Social Security benefits for people who also receive pensions from non-Social-Security-covered government employment.
Abstract
(HR82 · 118th Congress) Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 This act repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. The act 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 act 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. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2023. Latest action (2025-01-05): Became Public Law No: 118-273.
Why this matters
The GPO and WEP have for decades reduced Social Security benefits for millions of public-sector retirees — teachers, firefighters, police, and certain federal workers — whose careers straddled Social-Security-covered and non-covered employment. Repeal materially increases retirement income for these workers and their survivors, while raising fiscal questions for the Social Security trust funds. For employers in state and local government, it removes a longstanding recruitment and retention disincentive tied to pension design.