Congressman Kevin Brady (R – The Woodlands) has filed legislation to replace the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) with a formula equalizing benefits for certain individuals with non-covered employment. The bill is labeled HR 6933, and it is a bipartisan bill co-authored by Richie Neal (D- MA).
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) is an unfair federal provision preventing retirees from receiving the Social Security benefits they are owed. The WEP, which took effect in 1983, provides a means of eliminating the “windfall” of Social Security benefits received by beneficiaries who also receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security.
Brady created this press release about the bill.
Ninety-five percent of Texas public school employees do not pay into Social Security through their work with Texas schools. However, many have other jobs before, during, or after their employment in education in which they do pay into the federal program.
The bill, known as the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2018, is similar to a bill filed in 2016, H.R. 711, the Equal Protection for Public Servants Act. The bill failed to receive a vote in the House Ways and Means Committee in the summer of 2016, of which Brady is the Chairman.
Congressman Brady has communicated with the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) and other interest groups multiple times over the past two years, indicating his strong desire to continue working to correct an issue that impacts hundreds of thousands of retired public servants nationwide.
TRTA, along with our friends at the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) and other active and retired public employee organizations, thank Chairman Brady for his ongoing efforts to fix the unfair and arbitrary WEP. His work with Richie Neal is greatly appreciated.
While there are other bills suggesting a complete repeal of the WEP and the GPO, this is the only bill with Congressional support that may actually be able to move through the very difficult process of getting passed in Congress.
TRTA will have a longer update about this coming as we receive more information.
