“Now that WEP/GPO is repealed, with the amount that we’re getting in Social Security plus the fact that we got a retroactive payment, my husband and I are literally buying a car because we have a really good down payment,” CEA-Retired member Melissa Robbins (pictured at right) shares.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) were penalties that, for forty years, negatively impacted educators and other public servants, preventing them from receiving their earned Social Security benefits. CEA members fought hard for repeal for decades, and it was a huge victory when President Biden signed WEP/GPO repeal into law January 5, 2025.
This winter and spring retired teachers have begun receiving their adjusted Social Security monthly benefit, as well as a one-time retroactive payment to make up for the underpayments they received in 2024. The increased income has been a big help for many retirees, allowing them to pay bills more easily, grow their emergency fund, or even make fun plans like taking a vacation.
“As young people, my husband and I never really thought about Medicare,” says Robbins. “It occurred to us at the end of our teaching careers that if we didn’t continue to work, we weren’t going to qualify for Medicare, and that would be a financial burden. So, after I retired I went back to work, paying into Social Security. My husband did some work, but he had also worked considerable part-time jobs while he was teaching, and he was in the military during the Vietnam era.”
Retired teacher Michael Noonan also worked as a church organist for 40 years. Thanks to WEP/GPO repeal, he’ll be receiving 60% more in his Social Security checks.
When Robbins’ husband received his first Social Security check, it was only $20 after the cost of Medicare was taken out. As the cost of Medicare went up over the years, his check dropped to only $14 a month.
Robbins and her husband followed the work of the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force closely and wrote letters to their members of Congress.
“I felt it was important for legislators to know how little some of us were getting. As a veteran, my husband was getting $14,” she says.
Robbins and her husband previously only received about $120 a month in Social Security and are now receiving $650 a month.
“I really appreciate everything that Congress did so that the people who had been missing out on their full Social Security are finally getting it,” Robbins says.
“When I retired 17 years ago, even though I had 40 quarters, they were from way back in my teenage years, so I never earned enough Social Security income to even cover the cost of Medicare,” says retired teacher Cindy Lathrop. “Since I’m now able to collect the spousal benefit, it’s taking a lot of pressure off me. I am that person that pays the bills on the first of every month, and that is much easier to do with this extra money. I don’t have to keep switching from savings to checking and savings to checking. It has made my life easier.”
CEA-Retired Treasurer Karen DiMenna is planning a trip thanks to the retroactive Social Security payment she received.
In addition to his career in teaching, Michael Noonan also worked as a church organist for 40 years and paid into Social Security. He plans to start collecting Social Security later this year when he becomes eligible. He’s run the numbers and discovered he will receive at least 60% more now than he would have if WEP/GPO had not been repealed.
“I feel that this repeal is allowing the teaching profession to be more attractive to people who are career changers or work a second job, and that’s going to help benefit the teaching profession overall,” he says.
“The retroactive payment I’ve received from Social Security is enabling me and two other retired teacher friends to plan a long awaited trip,” says CEA-Retired Treasurer Karen DiMenna. “We are driving Route 66 from Chicago to L.A., and we’re doing it during the school year. We can plan as we wish and travel comfortably, not in a camper.”
“I want to thank all the active and retired members of CEA and CEA-Retired who worked so hard to get WEP/GPO repealed,” says CEA-Retired President Bill Murray. “Your work is greatly appreciated—you did a great job.”
