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Celebrating the Historic Repeal of WEP/GPO on the One-Year Anniversary
A huge victory for unions and public servants
On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into a law, marking a huge victory for unions and public employees. To commemorate the one-year anniversary, we are sharing the stories of MTA members who were able to recoup some of their lost Social Security benefits through the historic repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. MTA President Max Page was at the White House for the January 5, 2025, signing.
Karen Jackson
Karen Jackson, a retired special education teacher in the Bridgewater-Raynham district, was able to get by comfortably on her pension, but the extra money coming from her restored Social Security made it possible for her to increase her charitable giving.
“The windfall money makes it possible to help others financially, through donations or gifts or treating shut-ins with something special they would have to do without. I recently donated to the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts and the ACLU. Glad to do this. Every month I realize more and more what this extra means to me and I am grateful to all who made it happen.”
Robin Quist
Robin Quist, a former Clinton Teachers Association president, who retired as a middle school band director for Clinton public schools. Quist was thankful when WEP-GPO restored her small Social Security check, which meant she no longer had to cover more than half of her Medicare Part B bill. But the real win was learning she would be able to collect a spousal benefit for her new husband’s Social Security.
“I filled out paperwork, waited for an appointment, brought in my marriage certificate and, voila, I have another $1,000 per month. This makes the difference between needing to be cognizant of what I spend, to having a bit more freedom to enjoy retirement. And the bigger picture means I can still put some away for future years when my pension doesn’t keep up with inflation.”
Linda Saunders
Linda Saunders, a retired educator who worked at Manchester Essex Regional School District, appreciated that the WEP-GPO repeal added to her income, but also eliminated the anxiety of having to deal with the Social Security Administration every time she received a COLA increase.
“With each pension COLA increase, a form for reporting the increase was required and then a long waiting period for Social Security to reconfigure my monthly checks,” Saunders wrote. “This was never a quick or easy process since I collected on both my Social Security and my late husband’s, leaving me with $19 of the $32 pension COLA. It’s nice to have Social Security simplified.”
Arthur Hyman
Arthur Hyman, who retired 15 years ago from Monson public schools and was a school adjustment counselor. “I … had a part-time, private practice in counseling, where I paid a significant amount of money into Social Security. My Social Security check increased $450 a month, which is certainly helpful as far as paying bills. The huge retroactive check was very helpful too!”
Diane Foley
Diane Foley, a governance specialist for the MTA, witnessed firsthand the decades-long effort to repeal the WEP-GPO laws. “Throughout those many years, I saw the unwavering commitment and persistence of all involved in fighting to overturn this unjust law. I have many friends who were deeply impacted by WEP-GPO, and I will never forget the joy and relief they felt when it was finally repealed. Thank you, MTA, for your dedication, advocacy and determination.”
Jo Ann Florek
Jo Ann Florek, a reading specialist who retired a decade ago from the Westfield public schools, worked for many years in private schools, teaching students with substantial needs who were placed in alternate settings by local school systems. “I qualified for a little over $300 a month, not the full amount of more than $1,200. The day my husband said, ‘Why do we have almost $12,000 in our checking account from Social Security?’ was a wonderful surprise. I bought a much newer used car. My monthly Social Security check increased to the amount I deserved. That extra $900 a month has allowed us to maintain our standard of living despite the rising prices we must all endure this year. Our family is relieved and grateful.”
Richard & Patricia Marsh
Shauneen Coutu wrote on behalf of her parents. Her mother, Patricia Marsh, was an elementary special education teacher in Agawam Public Schools. Her father, Richard Marsh, taught high school science in the same district. “When I was growing up, my father always had a second job selling insurance, real estate, in order to make ends meet and support a family. When he retired from teaching, he was not able to collect his Social Security. My mother was not allowed to collect his Social Security as a widow benefit. I was so happy for her that she was able to receive a lump sum amount and now a monthly benefit for my father’s portion that he paid into. I know he is happy knowing that my mother is supported and able to enjoy retirement on a teacher’s pension with a little more ease. She has been able to do house repairs and travel. My father worked so hard his whole life as an educator. It’s a relief that things were made right and what he was owed can benefit my mother in her elder years. She was in disbelief and thrilled when I informed of the Social Security benefit being restored.”
“My father worked so hard his whole life as an educator. It’s a relief that things were made right and what he was owed can benefit my mother in her elder years.“
Shauneen Coutu, daughter of two Agawam teachers
Educators celebrate the repeal of WEP-GPO
From the Winter 2025 edition of MTA Today
Nancy Tynan Cederholm was only a few years into her career in public education when she heard about the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. Back then, in the late 1990s, she wasn’t thinking about retirement and didn’t dwell on it.
But now, at 70, she’s ready. And thanks to the recent repeal of those laws, she can retire next year without losing any of the Social Security benefits she earned while working for about 25 years in a variety of private-sector jobs. She’s still working in Wareham as a clerical employee and Education Support Professional and plans to retire next year when her husband reaches his retirement age.
Like many MTA members, Tynan Cederholm tuned in to C-SPAN and watched President Biden on Jan. 5 as he signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law. Suddenly, after years of worrying about their finances, or delaying retirement to save more money to compensate for what they expected to lose, educators who had paid into Social Security for years feel a weight lifted.
Suddenly, after years of worrying about their finances, or delaying retirement to save more money to compensate for what they expected to lose, educators who had paid into Social Security for years feel a weight lifted.
“It’s not going to affect me,” Tynan Cederholm said. “When I retire, I won’t have the two-thirds taken off.” She estimates that loss would have reduced her gross Social Security by about $9,000 annually.
With a win 40 years in the making, a new federal law secures full retirement benefits for educators
An injustice robbing public employees of hard-earned retirement benefits for the past 40 years has been corrected. On Jan. 5, 2025, President Joe Biden signed into law a full repeal of the federal GPO-WEP laws. This victory came in part through the efforts of MTA and NEA members, who called and visited their elected representatives to encourage them to vote for a repeal that will enable them to retire with the Social Security they rightfully earned.
Following an early-morning approval by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 21, the repeal legislation was delivered to Biden, who signed it at a White House ceremony. The U.S. House had earlier approved the repeal. The Social Security Administration now will determine how to implement the measure. The agency has created a site on its home page for people to obtain updates.
“Over 2.5 million Americans will receive a lump sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in the benefits they should have gotten in 2024, and they will begin receiving these payments this year,” Biden said. “This victory is the culmination of a forty-year fight to provide security for workers who dedicated their lives to their communities. I am proud to have played a small part in this fight.”
MTA President Max President had the honor of being at the White House for the bill signing.
Page, pictured with Senator Ed Markey, a longtime supporter of the repeal of the GPO and WEP laws, said: "The 40-year-long steal of well-earned retirement benefits from public servants across the country, including tens of thousands of MTA members, has been repealed! Organizing, advocacy, and persistence by unions across the nation and throughout the NEA made this possible. What a powerful way to start off the new year."
Updates from the Social Security Administration NEA FAQ on Social Security Fairness Act