# What the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act Actually Does

This bill tackles a decades-old rule called the "windfall elimination provision" that reduces Social Security benefits for certain government workers. Here's what's actually happening and who it affects.

## Who This Affects

The bill primarily impacts people who worked for state or local governments—like teachers, police officers, firefighters, or other public employees—in jobs where they didn't pay Social Security taxes. Many of these workers have two sources of retirement income: a government pension from their public service job and Social Security benefits from other work where they did pay into the system. The current windfall elimination provision penalizes these people by significantly cutting their Social Security benefits, sometimes by hundreds of dollars per month.

## What Changes Starting in 2025

The bill creates a new way to calculate benefits for people who become eligible for Social Security after 2024. Instead of the current penalty system, it uses a formula that treats their government work earnings as if they had paid Social Security taxes on them. This means their benefits would be calculated more fairly based on their total lifetime earnings, not just the work where they paid into Social Security. For people becoming eligible after 2067, this new calculation becomes the standard approach.

## Immediate Relief for Current Retirees

The bill doesn't wait for the new system to fully take effect. Starting about nine months after the law passes, it provides an extra $100 per month to anyone currently receiving reduced Social Security benefits under the windfall elimination provision. Spouses and family members receiving benefits based on that person's work record get an extra $50 per month. This payment continues indefinitely and increases automatically whenever Social Security benefits get their annual cost-of-living adjustment.

## Additional Practical Changes

The bill also requires Social Security statements to show how much someone earned from government work that didn't count toward Social Security. This helps people understand how their benefits are calculated. Finally, it directs the Social Security Administration to work with state and local pension systems to better track government pensions, making the system more accurate and transparent going forward.

Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023

Arrington, Jodey C.

Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2067, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2025 and 2067 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.