Advocacy Center – Legislative State and Federal Issues

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The GPO and WEP are Social Security provisions which impact individuals who have chosen to serve their school boards, towns, cities, counties and states in public jobs.  These provisions reduce retired public employee’s individual Social Security and survivor benefits. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) eliminates or reduces the spousal benefit by an amount that is determined using a formula which factors in the amount of a teacher’s retirement benefit. This reduction occurs whether the Social Security receiving spouse is alive, deceased, or divorced. Remember, the GPO only impacts those individuals who were not eligible to retire prior to December 31, 1982 (at least age 55 and twenty years of credible service). The following examples help clarify how the GPO may affect an individual in these different circumstances.

The GPO and WEP affect public employees in states that do not participate in the Social Security system. These Social Security benefit reductions affect public employees in virtually every state; however, those states with the greatest impact, in addition to Louisiana, are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Non-public employees with private pensions get to keep their entire Social Security benefit and their Social Security survivor benefits.  Take a minute to contact members of your congressional delegation to let them know you do not appreciate being treated differently from your family members and friends who worked in private sector jobs.

Contact a Social Security representative to verify your years of “substantial” earnings and request a calculation of your Social Security benefit. Visit www.ssa.gov for more detailed information on the GPO and WEP, and how these offsets are computed.

What is Being Proposed and What You Can Do

Each year, several bills are proposed by members of the U.S. Congress which address the reduction or repeal of both the GPO and WEP.  The Coalition to Preserve Retirement Security has information regarding these proposals posted on their website, www.retirementsecurity.org.

In addition, a grassroots organization founded in California–Social Security Fairness–has developed a web site that provides updated information on the repeal initiative.  That web site address is www.ssfairness.com.  The web site provides a thorough explanation of GPO/WEP, and suggests steps you can take to further the cause for the repeal of these federal statutes.

You can find the latest information on the proposals before the U.S. Congress by searching for GPO repeal and WEP repeal on the web site of the Library of Congress.  That web site address is http://thomas.loc.gov.

The Government Pension Offset
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) eliminates or reduces the spousal benefit by two-thirds the value of a teacher’s retirement benefit. This reduction occurs whether the Social Security receiving spouse is alive, deceased, or divorced. Remember, the GPO only impacts those individuals who were not eligible to retire prior to December 31, 1982 (at least age 55 and twenty years of credible service). The following examples help clarify how the GPO may affect an individual in these different circumstances.

Michael collects a Social Security benefit of $800 per month. His wife, Jan, who is a retired public school teacher worked for a school district that did not pay Social Security on its employees. Jan receives a monthly teacher annuity of $1,200. For the purpose of this example, both Michael and Jan are age 65 or older.

Effect of GPO with Living Spouse
Jan’s potential Social Security: Benefit: $800 X 1/2 = $400
Amount Calculated for GPO reduction: $1,200 X 2/3 = $800
Total monthly Social Security benefit: $400 – $800 = No benefit

Effect of GPO upon Death or Divorce
Jan’s potential Social Security Benefit: $800
Amount Calculated for GPO reduction: $1,200 X 2/3 = $800
Total Social Security Benefit: $800 – $800 = No benefit

These examples illustrate a complete offset, whereas in other situations, there may not be a complete offset. It is important to remember that in cases where a complete offset has not occurred, any increase in the teacher’s benefit, even the provision of periodic COLAs from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, will result in a recalculation of the Social Security benefit. In other words, as the teacher’s annuity goes up, the Social Security benefit goes down.