Submitted by Mary Scruggs
Dear Editor,
I am a Retired Fed Employee and member of Narfe for 23 years. I live in Prince George
County Maryland. I’m affected by the WEP/GPO offsets. My quality of living is very much affected due to loss of income which I feel entitled to. I worked and earned the entitlement of these benefits. I’m a widow of 23 years and my husband was a Private industry employee.
I am a retired federal employee writing to raise awareness of the devasting effects of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) experienced by nearly 2 million people. This policy reduces the earned Social Security benefits of local, state and federal retirees who worked in Social Security-covered private-sector employment, and who also earned an annuity from their non-Social Security covered government employment. The WEP can result in a monthly Social Security benefit that is $498 lower than deserved, causing undue financial distress
Why should we be penalized for working hard for our country?
Additionally, spouses are feeling the burden of the Government Pension Offset (GPO), a similar penalty, which prevents them from collecting the Social Security benefits their spouses earned from private-sector jobs due to their public service. The GPO affects 716,662 beneficiaries, 47 percent of which are widows or widowers, and 83 percent of whom are women.
We rightfully earned these benefits in exchange for our dedication and hard work to the nation, and, as such, I am inviting other retirees affected by the WEP and GPO to join me in calling on Congress to repeal these unfair provisions. It’s past time to stop punishing us for our public service and allow for us to collect what we rightfully earned.
Sincerely,
Mary Scruggs
Temple Hills, MD
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