Dear ASEA Member:

Over the weekend, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) into law, endin GPO-WEP penalties permanently! This ends a policy of reducing Social Security benefits that has plagued retired Alaska public service workers for DECADES!

This monumental achievement of reversing bad legislation can be credited to the tireless and thankless work by our retirees, active members, and numerous labor and union leaders. I am grateful that public service in our state no longer comes with the burden of retirement penalties.

Our next step is to restore a defined benefit retirement for employees enrolled in PERS Tier IV. I expect new legislation, similar to bills in prior years, to be introduced in the Alaska Legislature that offers new public employees a defined benefit (DB) pension and existing PERS Tier IV employees a choice to adopt the pension benefit over the current defined contribution (DC) retirement plan.

To our retired members – or members with spouses receiving benefits – I encourage you to visit the Social Security Administration site for more information at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html

Anyone receiving Social Security benefits with reductions is encouraged to update their contact information with the SSA, including their direct deposit information.

Log in to your SSA account to update or verify: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ 

Background on the GPO and WEP

The GPO (1977) and WEP (1983) were originally introduced in an attempt to balance demand for Social Security benefits at the expense of employees receiving public pensions. Discounting Social Security benefits has unfairly affected all Alaskans working for public employers, especially those hired into public service since 2006 when the Defined Benefit retirement system was replaced with Defined Contribution individual retirement accounts.

More information about the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/program-explainers/windfall-elimination-provision.html 

More information about the Government Pension Offset (GPO) is available at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf

If you are not an ASEA member, our Union is actively serving your interests through collective bargaining, contract enforcement, and member advocacy—including support for the repeal of GPO-WEP and restoration of a Defined Benefit retirement. Please consider adding to our collective strength and power by becoming an ASEA member today: https://www.afscmelocal52.org/member.

In Solidarity,

Heidi Drygas
Executive Director