Social Security WEP settlement for NII recipients
The US Social Security Administration has settled a class action WEP suit for those receiving pensions from the National Institute of Israel (NII) (Bituach Leumi).
On April 8, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily approved a nationwide class action settlement agreement in the case of Greenberg v. Colvin. As a result of the Greenberg settlement, the US Social Security Administration (SSA) will no longer apply the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) to the receipt of a pension received from the National Institute of Israel (NII), also known as “Bituach Leumi”. This settlement does not apply to persons whose benefits were reduced, or from whom overpayments were collected, as a result of the application of WEP to any other pension.
For Class Members whose benefits were reduced or from whom an overpayment was collected at any time after September 3, 2004, as a result of the application of the Windfall Elimination Provision to the Class Member’s receipt of a pension from the NII, SSA will calculate and issue a payment to each eligible Class Member as follows: (a) the full amount of all reductions, if any, that SSA made to the Class Member’s benefit payment(s) since September 3, 2004, and (b) refund the full amount of any collections, if any, that SSA has made for any overpayment(s) since September 3, 2004, against the Class Member, and (c) less the percentage, if any, of those amounts that the Court awards to Class Counsel as attorneys’ fees.
Those affected should visit the Greenberg Settlement Website located at www.ssa.gov/greenberg to obtain more information. That website hosts important documents, including the Settlement Agreement and a Detailed Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement. The Detailed Notice, in particular, gives all the information you will need, and the steps you will need to take, in order to determine your eligibility for a refund and how potentially to obtain one. If you have any questions, you may also contact Kelley Drye & Warren, the attorneys who are Class Counsel in the case, by calling +1 202 945-6611 (US number) or by emailing them at SSACase@kelleydrye.com.
ACA continues to follow developments on WEP and the other organisations working on WEP such as Social Security Fairness www.ssfairness.com/ which provides updates on recent Social Security legislation.