Windfall Elimination Provision Legislative Update

A percentage of OPERS members spend some of their working career employed in the private sector either before or after their public employment. Those individuals may be entitled to both a Social Security benefit as well as an OPERS pension upon retirement. OPERS often hears from those members concerned about the extent to which their Social Security benefits are reduced as a result of the federal Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

OPERS has been working with Congress to support a legislative solution to the WEP issue to ensure Social Security benefits are fairly calculated for our members who have work experience in both the public and private sectors. In a recent PERSpective blog post, OPERS Government Relations staff provided some background on the WEP and discussed the status of the WEP reform efforts.