Press Release: 1/6/2025

Statement from the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (MassCOP) on President Biden Signing the Social Security Fairness Act into Law

Scott A. Hovsepian, President

sah@masscop.org

John E. Nelson, First Vice-President

jen@masscop.org

Robert W. Murphy, Secretary/Treasurer

rwm@masscop.org

(508) 581-9336

fax (508) 581-9564

“The Only Union for Police Officers and 911 Dispatchers”

January 6, 2025

The Massachusetts Coalition of Police (MassCOP) applauds President Biden, the U.S. Senate and the U.S.

House of Representatives for delivering retirement fairness to millions of Americans whose social security

benefits had been reduced simply because they served as police, firefighters, teachers or other local or state

public employees.

In signing the Social Security Fairness Act into law today, President Biden enacts this critical legislation

which MassCOP and its law enforcement brothers and sisters nationwide have fought for on behalf of their

colleagues and all public service workers for nearly 40 years.

MassCOP President Scott A. Hovsepian and First Vice President John E. Nelson played a key leadership

role in this effort on behalf of MassCOP’s more than 5,000 members. They spent weeks on Capitol Hill

walking the halls of Congress urging lawmakers to support retirement fairness. The two were part of a

delegation of advocates representing law enforcement officers and other public safety employees,

including National Association of Police Organizations (N.A.P.O.) President Mick McHale, Executive

Director Bill Johnson, and Director of Governmental Affairs Andy Edmiston.

The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the

Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules that impact benefits for millions of public servants. U.S.

Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) were the original co-sponsors. The

Social Security Fairness Act had 330 co-sponsors, including seven members of Congress from the

Massachusetts delegation.

“Today’s historic action by President Biden, and the great leadership we previously saw on this in both

the House and Senate, amounts to a huge victory for law enforcement officers and other public servants in

Massachusetts and nationwide,” said MassCOP President Scott Hovsepian. “Retirement fairness has taken

the place of financial injustice for millions of hardworking people. It has been a long time coming.”

For decades, the WEP had reduced the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also received

a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. This historically impacted many educators

who do not earn Social Security in public schools, but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs

covered by Social Security. The GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or

local government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and educators — if the job is not

covered by Social Security. The GPO reduced by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who

also collect a government pension — often offsetting benefits entirely.

Member of National Association of Police Organization, N.A.P.O.

Most recently, the WEP was impacting approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the

GPO nearly 800,000 retirees.