Colorado PERA, Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado Send Joint Letter in Support of Social Security Fairness Act

DENVER—The chief executives of Colorado PERA and the Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado today sent a joint letter to Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, encouraging them to support H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, in the United States Congress.

H.R. 82 would repeal Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), two provisions that can significantly reduce Social Security benefits for retirees who also receive retirement income from work that wasn’t covered by Social Security. In Colorado, most public employees do not contribute to Social Security and therefore face reductions to their Social Security benefits under WEP and GPO.

“As administrators of public retirement plans, we are sensitive to the financial challenges our beneficiaries face amid high inflation and soaring health care costs,” the letter reads. “We support Congress’ efforts to reform WEP and GPO, as doing so would put more money in the pockets of retirees who dedicated their careers to public service and who deserve to see every dollar of the benefits they’ve earned.”

Read the full letter.

Colorado PERA provides retirement and other benefits to nearly 700,000 current and former teachers, State Troopers, corrections officers, snowplow drivers, and other public employees who provide valuable service to all of Colorado. PERA is a vital and stable contributor to Colorado’s economy, distributing $4.56 billion in 2023 to more than 114,000 retirees who live in Colorado.