Urging congress to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision of the Social Security Act.
The GPO and WEP disproportionately affect public employees such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters, who are often penalized despite having contributed to Social Security in other employment. As a result, many suffer a reduction in their retirement income, with estimates suggesting that the cumulative loss exceeding $60 billion for affected employees over the next decade. This has implications not only for the quality of life of retirees but may also impact the ability of public agencies to attract and retain qualified professionals, particularly educators, during an ongoing shortage.
HCR61 is a concurrent resolution from the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas urging the repeal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) of the Social Security Act. These provisions, enacted in 1977 and 1983 respectively, impose significant penalties on public employees who rely on public pensions, especially impacting those in states like Texas where a large proportion of public servants do not participate in Social Security. The resolution aims to bring attention to the detrimental effects of these provisions on retirees’ financial well-being, emphasizing the need for legislative change at the federal level.
Supporters of the resolution argue that the GPO and WEP are unjust and should be repealed to ensure that public employees—who make significant contributions to society—are not unfairly penalized in their retirement. They contend that the current provisions lead to premature retirements among veteran teachers, exacerbating workforce shortages in education. Conversely, there may be contention from those who believe that these provisions were intended to prevent 'windfall' benefits for high earners and that their repeal may impose additional costs on the Social Security system, necessitating a balanced examination of the implications of such policy changes.