Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins released the following statement commemorating today’s 90th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act:
“For 90 years, Social Security has remained one of the most effective lifesaving programs in our nation’s history, providing a vital safety net for retirees, people with disabilities, surviving spouses, and children so that they can live with dignity after a lifetime of work or in the face of severe hardship.
“Earlier this year, that legacy was strengthened with the signing of the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill I authored to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — two provisions of the Social Security Act that had unfairly withheld earned benefits from teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants and their spouses. This reform was a victory decades in the making. It ensures that Social Security’s original goal of providing retiring workers and their families with the financial security they’ve earned after years of contributions to the system is fully realized for those who have devoted their careers to serving others.
“Since then, and following my urging, the Social Security Administration has fully implemented the law, adjusting benefits for 2.8 million Americans. This includes more than 25,000 Mainers who have seen their benefits increase. Additionally, those beneficiaries in Maine have been issued more than $184.5 million in retroactive payments.
“As we commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act and the critical role it has played in the lives of millions of Americans, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that this program continues to meet the needs of Americans now and in the decades to come.”
Prior to the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), more than 25,000 Mainers, who dedicated their lives to public service, were prevented from receiving the full Social Security benefits they had earned due to two laws from the 1970s and 1980s. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in 1983, reduced the Social Security benefits of workers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government for employment not covered by Social Security. The Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in 1977, reduced Social Security spousal benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government.
On January 5th, President Biden signed the SSFA into law, repealing the WEP and the GPO. This followed the passage of the bill in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate by overwhelming bipartisan margins, with votes of 327-75 and 76-20, respectively.
Since the enactment of the SSFA, and following the urging of Senator Collins, the Social Security Administration has fully implemented the law, adjusting the benefits for more than 2.8 million beneficiaries and issuing millions in retroactive payments. This resulted in increased benefits for 25,398 Mainers who had previously been affected by the WEP and GPO and an issuance of a combined $184,535,728 in retroactive payments to those beneficiaries.
Senator Collins held the first ever Senate hearing on repealing these two provisions in 2003 as Chair of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. She, along with the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, first introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in 2005.
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