• Estimates indicate that 9 out of 10 public employees affected by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their deceased spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years. Some 300,000 individuals are losing an average of $3,600 a year due to the GPO - an amount that can make the difference between self-sufficiency and poverty. In fact, the loss of these benefits may make some people eligible for needs-based assistance, such as food stamps.

• The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) causes low-paid public employees outside the Social Security system, like educators, to lose up to sixty percent of their Social Security benefits.

• The GPO and WEP have the harshest impact on those who can least afford the loss: lower-income women.

• The GPO and WEP discriminate against individuals who have chosen to serve their communities or country in public jobs.

• The GPO and WEP substantially reduce benefits that workers and spouses had counted on when planning their retirement.

• The GPO and WEP impact teacher recruitment efforts. For example, individuals who have worked in other careers are less likely to want to become teachers if doing so will mean a loss of Social Security benefits they have earned.

• Congress can take immediate action to help people affected by the discriminatory GPO and WEP. Bipartisan bills have been introduced to reduce the impact of both provisions. Members of Congress should also support passage of H.R. 2638 and S. 1523, which would repeal both the GPO and WEP. H.R. 664 and S. 611, which would eliminate the GPO for the first $1,200 of combined monthly benefits. In addition, Congress should support H.R. 1073, which minimizes the impact of the WEP, and H.R. 848, which eliminates the WEP.

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