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The Social Security Fairness Act: A $200 Billion Boondoggle

This change in Social Security has got people asking questions.
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The Social Security Fairness Act: A $200 Billion Boondoggle
This new social security change brings some interesting outcomes. mayu85/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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Congress just passed a law that will give me (and millions of people like me) extra Social Security benefits that we simply do not deserve and haven’t earned.

To understand what is going on, here is a quick history lesson: The original Social Security Act included unintentional and overly generous benefits for government employees. These were benefits that no other Americans could get. About 50 years ago, a more responsible Congress recognized this and created two laws to correct this mistake. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WPO) said that Social Security retirement benefits for government employees should be figured in the same way as those for all other senior citizens. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) law said that government pensions should offset any Social Security spousal benefits potentially due, just as Social Security retirement benefits have always offset those same spousal benefits.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]