Miracles Never Cease

 Today, the U.S. Senate invoked cloture on the Social Security Fairness Act with a vote of 73 to 27.  Tomorrow is the scheduled vote, and it is expected to pass and go to President Biden for his signature.

Repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (the Government Pension Offset is also involved) will make a difference in my Social Security benefits.  The bill is retroactive to December of 2023, when this latest repeal was first proposed, so I should get around $1,400 in back pay.  I worked in Nevada public employment from 1999-2003, and then from 2005-2008.  Most of the former was in part-time work at a law library for Washoe County, while 2002-2003 was at a school district.  The last period was for a school district until I was let go in April of 2008.  My service credit for Nevada PERS was 5.04 years.  However, I did teach full time at a private school in northern Nevada, so I was still paying into Social Security, while at the same time working at the law library for PERS credit (and full health insurance benefits).  The years I worked and didn't pay into it were about 3 1/2 years total.  When I began to take my Nevada pension in 2011 at age 56, my original pension benefit was $300.41, which is fully taxable federally and in Oregon.  

In April of 2017, I started receiving Social Security benefits when I turned 62.  I had to do it, for this school district at the time employed me for less than 20 hours a week, no benefits but Oregon PERS and sick/personal leave.  I did work to about 29 hours a week, however, most years, because my principal then always made sure I got more hours.  That helped with the pension amount.  Three years ago (or four school years ago), I got moved to a school where I took a full-time, 35-hour-a-week classified (not certified) position, with full benefits, of which I am still employed today.  I get a fairly decent amount of income as long as I don't retire from the school district anytime soon.  Not nearly as much as I would have had I worked as a teacher (I probably would have made around $100,000 a year total if I had), but I can get by.  By the time I got Social Security, I had my benefit reduced by $119 a month because of the time I worked in Nevada public employment.  This left me under $800 a month total.  When Medicare Part B kicked in almost five years ago, my SS benefit was just $687 a month.  Having no more WEP will pay about 2/3rds of the Medicare Part B premium, and that will be a big help for me.

I am not alone.  There are some 2 1/2 million people  like me affected by the WEP.  We paid into Social Security, worked enough hours to get benefits, but got cheated out of the full amount under some ridiculous notion that because we worked in public employment, we have  "big pensions."  It sure isn't true in my case and many others.

Thanks to at least a decade's worth of work by public employees to persuade members of Congress to repeal these provisions, repeal has been a bipartisan effort.  This is the way Congress SHOULD be run and used to be run before the far right ruined public discourse and why this country is on the brink of disaster.

From a Facebook post by  outgoing Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who helped spearhead the repeal effort in this Congress:

U.S. Senator Sherrod BrownNational WEP & GPO Repeal Movement

All-star contributor

  · sontreSopd1hu0l53m261g2a448305hg24c7if00m2gu2a624135hca3f59u  · 

WE DID IT. Today 73 Senators voted to move forward on our Social Security Fairness Act and restore the Social Security benefits you’ve earned. This vote is proof that your advocacy has worked.

You’ve called our offices, you’ve written letters and emails, you’ve contacted your representatives on social media, and so much more. We’ve heard you, and we’re making this right.

I’ve helped lead the fight to repeal WEP and GPO for 10 years, and it was an honor to stand on the Senate floor this afternoon and watch as so many of my colleagues joined us to restore the Social Security of America’s police officers, firefighters, educators, and public servants. There are a few more steps until it’s final, but this is a victory worth celebrating. And I’ll keep working until we get it to the President’s desk.

Thank you for being in this fight. When you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work.

Update:  After midnight EST, on December 21st, repeal did pass the Senate after several proposed amendments were defeated.  The final vote was 76 to 20.

President Biden will sign it.

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