Connecticut celebrates historic victory as WEP/GPO is repealed

Teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service workers in Connecticut and across the country are celebrating after a historic vote by the Senate and bill signing by President Biden to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). After 40 years, this unjust policy— which stripped millions of public servants of their earned Social Security benefits—has finally been overturned.

“Together we made history,” said Connecticut Education Association (CEA) President Kate Dias during a press conference at the state capitol. “This monumental victory is a testament to the perseverance, determination, and strong union activism of teachers and public servants. The repeal of WEP and GPO ensures that educators and other public workers will receive the retirement benefits to which they are rightfully entitled. It’s a new day for fairness and justice.”

In Connecticut, repealing the WEP will affect over 22,000 and repealing the GPO will affect nearly 10,000 Social Security beneficiaries. It will be retroactive to 2024.

In a 76 to 20 vote, the U.S. Senate ended the injustice of WEP/GPO, with Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy standing alongside a bipartisan coalition of their colleagues. This follows last month’s overwhelming bipartisan House passage of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) by a margin of 327 to 75.

In a signing ceremony at the White House, President Biden was introduced by Bette Marafino, president of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans and chair of the Repeal WEP and GPO.National Taskforce that met regularly on zoom for four years, starting out with a few ARA chapters and blossoming into a committee of 70 from many public sector unions coast to coast..

Marafino recalled her grandmother's fear of ending up in the poor house just a couple of blocks away where she would bring fresh baked bread. It was Social Security that enabled her to live a dignified life.

Connecticut ARA, CEA and AFT Connecticut played a pivotal role in this victory, lobbying members of Congress, working with unions across the country, and participating in numerous actions, press conferences and conferences to get this bill passed.

Dias and DeLancey spoke of being at the national labor news conference where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dramatically committed to bring the bill to a vote. Connecticut members of the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force watched the Senate vote virtually in the early hours.

Dias said, “This victory belongs to every teacher, every firefighter, every police officer, and every public servant who stood up and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ Together, we flooded Congress with over 130,000 emails from people in all 50 states. This victory proves the power of our union, the strength of our collective voice, and the possibility of achieving what once seemed impossible. Future generations of educators and public servants will benefit from our efforts, and that’s a legacy we can all be proud of.”

Speaking at the state capitol, Mary Moninger-Elia a retiree of AFT Connecticut, described her own experiences being denied $400 a month in earned benefits when she retired due to the WEP/GPO. “And then it became more devastatingly personal two years ago when my husband died, and though he had paid his Social Security for over 40 years, as his wife I got nothing,” she said.

“I believe that getting people out of their silos helped,” Moninger-Elia said, crediting Bette Marafino. “We started doing what we called the Hollywood Squares on Zoom meetings, where we would see one another, so we got to know one another that way, and we planned the strategies.“

Blumenthal and Congressman John Larson have previously introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which in addition to repealing the WEP and GPO, would provide across-the-board benefits increase, improve the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), and guarantee long-term stability for the Social Security Fund by ending the cap on payments for the hightest earners.