WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden today signed into law U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act to finally fix a 40-plus-year injustice for more than 50,000 Virginians and nearly 2.5 million Americans across the country.

Now law, Spanberger’s Social Security Fairness Act will eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) — two provisions added to the Social Security Act in 1983. These provisions have unfairly reduced or eliminated the earned retirement benefits of millions of Americans who devoted much of their careers to public service — including retired police officers, firefighters, and federal government employees across the Commonwealth.

“For decades, retired police officers, firefighters, teachers, government employees, and retired public servants across the country have worked hard, have paid into Social Security, and yet have found their earned benefits taken from them because of the WEP and GPO,” said Spanberger. “Today, we put an end to this theft. Today at the White House, I watched President Biden sign my Social Security Fairness Act into law with thousands of Virginians on my mind — every police officer, firefighter, federal employee, and grieving spouse I’ve heard from who has long been denied their full benefits.”

Spanberger continued, “Every Virginian who paid into Social Security should be able to count on their full earned benefits to support them in retirement. This firm belief — and the stories of Virginians long impacted by this injustice — strengthened my resolve to bring Republicans and Democrats together on Capitol Hill, force a long-overdue vote on the U.S. House floor, and finally get this done.”

Spanberger attended today’s signing ceremony at the White House alongside retirees and national advocates, who acknowledged Spanberger’s role in moving this legislation forward and securing a major victory for America’s retired public servants.

“For nearly fifty years, the federal government has shamefully stolen fire fighters’ retirements. Fire fighters already struggle with low wages in much of the nation, and the WEP/GPO was a further insult that forced them to continue struggling in retirement,” said Edward A. Kelly, General President, International Association of Fire Fighters. “The IAFF is proud to have partnered with Rep. Spanberger in leading the fight to repeal these penalties and return fire fighters’ dignified retirements. We are excited to see our bill signed into law and finally end this chapter of history.”

“NARFE has opposed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) since their inception, as unfair penalties that punished hardworking public servants by reducing their Social Security benefits. Today, history was made as President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, repealing both provisions,” said William “Bill” Shackelford, National President, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. “This milestone represents the culmination of years of tireless advocacy by NARFE and its members, who time and again made the case for fairness and equality in Social Security benefits. But it also would not have happened without the incredible leadership of Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Congressman Garret Graves, whose bipartisan efforts finally brought this bill to the floor for the vote it deserved.”

“It is an historic day for retirees impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The signing of the Social Security Fairness Act into law has been more than four decades in the making,” said Don Maston, President, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association. “The NRLCA applauds the bipartisan work done in both the House and the Senate to pass H.R. 82, and thanks President Biden for signing this important legislation.  Now that the Social Security Fairness Act is law, rural letter carriers and other retirees who were impacted by WEP and GPO will receive the retirement benefits they have rightfully earned.”

“Everyone knows a teacher, law enforcement officer, firefighter, nurse, or public worker who’s paid into Social Security year after year, only to have their earned benefits undercut by the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset when they retire. Today, after decades, fairness is restored, and these penalties have been eliminated,” said Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers. “Ensuring a fair and secure retirement demonstrates respect for the workers who help our communities. And it’s how we recruit and retain the next generation to help our country thrive. to former Rep. Spangberger for her relentless commitment to restoring fairness for our retirees. Without her leadership and work in Congress, we would not be here today.”

Currently, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who do not earn Social Security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have reduced benefits, even though they pay into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits.

Likewise, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and educators — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension — often offsetting benefits entirely.

BACKGROUND

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Spanberger worked tirelessly to deliver her legislation to the president’s desk.

Spanberger first introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2021. The bipartisan legislation earned the support of more than 300 Members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — before the end of the 117th Congress. At the start of the 118th Congress in January 2023, Spanberger reintroduced the legislation alongside U.S. Representative Garret Graves (R-LA-06).

For nearly four years, Spanberger rallied her colleagues on both sides of the aisle and congressional leadership to support her effort to solve this basic issue of fairness. The Congresswoman heard from thousands of Virginians who have been denied their hard-earned benefits. Using their stories, she advocated on behalf of this commonsense fix and the thousands of impacted Virginians.

Spanberger never stopped working to get this legislation across the finish line. In September 2024, Spanberger and Graves filed a discharge petition for their Social Security Fairness Act — which had more than 325 bipartisan cosponsors. Less than two weeks later, the petition secured the required 218 signatures needed to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House then voted to pass the Social Security Fairness Act.

Following U.S. House passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, Spanberger urged U.S. Senate leadership to swiftly vote to pass the legislation before the end of the 118th Congress. Spanberger stood in the pouring rain alongside firefighters, police officers, and federal employees during a rally at the U.S. Capitol to urge U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the legislation up for a vote before the end of the 118th Congress.

10 days later, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted to pass the legislation in December 2024 — sending the legislation to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

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