**Millions of Workers Affected by Social Security Benefit Reductions**
When Joyce Debnam’s husband passed away, she started receiving $1,400 a month in Social Security survivor benefits. However, eight months later, that income came to a sudden halt. The reason? Debnam retired from her job at the United States Postal Service in 2013 after forty years of service.
As a result, her Social Security benefits were slashed to just $174 a month, and she was informed that she had to repay $5,000 in overpaid benefits. Debnam was taken aback and expressed her shock at these developments.
Currently, Debnam, age 80, relies heavily on her postal pension to cover her expenses, which means that she can no longer afford her retirement goals, including travel and home renovations.
**How rules affecting public employees work**
The Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, and the Government Pension Offset, or GPO, are two rules that reduce the benefits of public workers who also receive a pension from non-Social Security-covered employment. As of December 2022, about two million people were affected by WEP, while around 734,601 were affected by the GPO.
**Many pension-eligible workers are unaware of rules**
Similar to Debnam, many workers are blindsided by these benefit reductions and have to make significant adjustments to their financial plans for retirement. Congressman Mike Carey of Ohio emphasized that the complexity of these policies makes planning for retirement extremely challenging.
**Efforts to address the rules**
Congress is exploring solutions to address these rules and has proposed the Social Security Fairness Act, which seeks to eliminate both the WEP and GPO. However, reaching a consensus on a solution that compensates employees who contributed to Social Security throughout their careers and those who also have pension income is proving to be difficult.
**How beneficiaries can estimate retirement income**
The Social Security Administration provides beneficiaries with tools to estimate their retirement benefits under these rules. However, there is still a risk of incorrect or incomplete information, leading to overpayments that beneficiaries will have to return.
In summary, millions of workers, like Joyce Debnam, are grappling with significant reductions in their Social Security benefits due to complex rules that they were largely unaware of. Efforts are underway to address these issues, but for now, affected workers must navigate the intricacies of these rules as they plan for their retirements.
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