Illinois is among the states with the largest proportion of workers affected by the Social Security Fairness Act.
That law signed this week by President Biden eliminates the so-called Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces or even eliminates social security payments to some retired workers who have public pensions and potentially their spouses.
Illinois is among the 12 states with the largest proportion of affected workers because public pensions in this state do not contribute to Social Security.
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) said those are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas.
"There are three states where a large number of local governments predominately do not participate – Georgia, Kentucky, and Rhode Island. Some large cities and counties are outside of Social Security as well, including Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, and Chicago and Cook County. However, some number of people in all 50 states are impacted, since all public workers were once excluded from Social Security," said the union (AFSCME).
The National Education Association estimates more than 105,000 Illinois residents are affected. AFSCME cited federal data showing about a quarter of public workers, half the teachers, and three quarters of police officers and firefighters were affected.
Democratic Congressman Eric Sorensen says he's heard from a lot of constituents about the issue.
"Social Security is theirs. They've earned it," said Sorensen.
Sorensen voted for the repeal as did all other Illinois Democrats in Congress.
"It means that your hard-earned dollars are going to get back into the pockets where they are deserved," said Sorensen.
GOP U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, Mary Miller, and Mike Bost voted against it. The overall vote in Congress was broadly bipartisan.
The measure has been introduced in Congress each year since 2001.
Opponents of the measure said WEP and GPO prevented unfair double dipping. Supporters countered saying those most affected were likely to be lower income and middle-class workers who earned only modest pensions.
Supporters said it also discouraged workforce mobility and job changes from the private to public sector positions when people knew about the provisions and that, in many cases, communication at the start of a new job was sometimes poor and the offsets came as surprises upon retirement.
Another set of arguments hinged on the effect eliminating WEP and GPO would have on the Social Security system. Opponents said it would accelerate the path to social security insolvency by about six months. Some lawmakers also contended changing the formula that determined the amount of the cut to Social Security benefits would cure any unfairness. That formula was based on wages earned and years employed in the private sector. Supporters of the act contended the financial implications to the system were insignificant compared to the overall need to address Social Security funding.
The law requires increases in Social Security income for affected retirees to be retroactive to January 1, 2024, though it may take some time for the Social Security Administration to fully implement the change.
