Dear Acting Commissioner Colvin,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to urge that the Social Security Administration (SSA) move expeditiously to implement the Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law by President Biden earlier this week.
The new law restores full Social Security benefits for millions of retired law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers, and other dedicated public servants by repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These two provisions of the Social Security Act unfairly reduce or eliminate the Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted much of their careers to public service. Finally, these employees will be able to collect in full the benefit that they earned through their hard work.
The new law repeals these provisions for all of 2024 in addition to the benefits SSA will pay going forward. While we recognize it will take some time to implement these changes, we hope that under your leadership, they will be made swiftly.
On behalf of the more than 377,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, thank you for your efforts to get this new law implemented. If I can provide any additional support for this effort, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President