The HEROS Act would change Social Security rules for surviving spouses of emergency workers who die in the line of duty. Specifically, it would exempt widows and widowers of police officers, firefighters, and correctional officers from the government pension offset, a rule that typically reduces Social Security survivor benefits for people who also receive government pensions. The bill covers federal, state, and local law enforcement officers as well as firefighters and correctional officers at all government levels. The changes would take effect immediately upon enactment and apply to all survivor benefits paid from that date forward. This legislation would allow surviving spouses of these emergency responders to receive their full Social Security benefits without the usual offset deduction.
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