North Houston News

Congressman Morgan Luttrell of Texas has taken a significant step by cosponsoring H.R. 82, known as the Social Security Fairness Act. This bipartisan legislation seeks to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The aim is to restore full Social Security benefits for public servants such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, emergency responders, and other state and local government employees, along with their spouses.

The bill was successfully passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today with strong bipartisan support. Congressman Luttrell emphasized the importance of this legislation: “This bill corrects a problem that has been hanging over the heads of our teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and countless other public servants,” he said. He further added that these individuals "deserve to retire with full access to the benefits they’ve earned rather than having to worry about being shortchanged by old, outdated rules."

The current WEP reduces Social Security benefits for those who have contributed to both civil service pensions and Social Security throughout their careers. This reduction unfairly impacts professions like firefighters, police officers, and teachers. Additionally, the GPO affects spousal dependent benefits for individuals who did not contribute directly to Social Security by reducing these benefits by two-thirds of their government pension. In some cases, this can result in no Social Security benefits at all for these individuals despite their spouse's lifetime contributions.