WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today announced nearly 73,000 Louisianans have already received a total of $566,209,833.81 in retroactive payments after the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This comes after Cassidy successfully secured a vote in the U.S. Senate to pass the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal WEP and GPO. After the bill was passed, Cassidy urged the Social Security Administration to implement the new law as quickly as possible. Louisiana has now received the seventh most of any state in retroactive payments.
“$566 million has already been given back to Louisiana families, and there is more to come,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This is a great victory for every police officer, firefighter, nurse, teacher, and public servant who has waited so long. I’m grateful to the Trump administration for their quick work.”
SSA began depositing retroactive payments into bank accounts on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, and will complete nearly all retroactive payments by the end of March. Adjustments to ongoing monthly benefits will begin in April.
Before the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, around 94,000 Louisianans were unfairly penalized by WEP and GPO. WEP was enacted in 1983 and reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government for employment not covered by Social Security. GPO was enacted in 1977 and reduces Social Security spousal benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers whose spouses receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government.
Background:
Cassidy played a pivotal role in getting the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law on January 5, 2025. Cassidy successfully demanded a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act. In July and again in December, Cassidy spoke on the U.S. Senate floor urging Congress to repeal WEP and GPO as part of his “Big Idea” to save, strengthen, and secure America’s retirement system. In June, Cassidy entered a statement into the record urging the repeal of WEP and GPO ahead of the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee field hearing on Social Security.
Cassidy is a long-time cosponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act in the Senate, being an original cosponsor since he became a Member of Congress in 2009. He led the introduction of the legislation in the 117th and 116th Congress.
Cassidy led a bipartisan working group to preserve and protect Social Security. He released the inaugural Bill on the Hill video where he asked Capitol Hill visitors from across the country their thoughts on the looming benefit cuts to Social Security and presented his “Big Idea.”
Last March, Cassidy grilled U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on President Biden’s plan to address Social Security, to which Secretary Yellen admitted “the president doesn’t have a plan,” to save Social Security.
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