AFSCME member testifies about the devastating impact of Social Security cuts

https://www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-member-testifies-about-the-devastating-impact-of-social-security-cuts

By Ezra Kane-Salafia · Thursday, June 27, 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For decades, two little-known provisions have punished some retirees who dedicated their working lives to public service.

The Government Pension Offset and “Windfall” Elimination Provisions (GPO-WEP) steeply cut Social Security benefits that public service workers earned from previous work in the private sector or as survivor’s benefits. The cuts can drastically shrink the retirement incomes of some public service workers, forcing people who earned a good retirement to go back to work into their 70s and 80s to make ends meet.

Fortunately, retirees and working families have a champion in Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is leading the charge to repeal GPO-WEP. He recently held a hearing on the subject and AFSCME members testified.

Barb Ward, a member of OAPSE/AFSCME Local 11, is one of those public service workers who’ll be harmed by GPO-WEP.

FULL story at link above.


OAPSE member Barb Ward (left, white shirt) testifies while Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown listens.