Efforts to get the Senate to vote on a bill to expand Social Security benefits are intensifying, as the Social Security Fairness Act rarely passes the House. bipartisan support But there is only a six-week window for it to pass.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of Senior Citizens Alliance (TSCL), an advocacy group dedicated to protecting retirement benefits. “There’s so much momentum, and if it doesn’t pass now, a lot of people will lose hope.”
The bill, decades in the making, would extend Social Security benefits to some retirees who receive pensions for jobs not covered by the retirement system, such as teachers, police officers, and state and federal employees such as the U.S. Postal Service. This would abolish the provision that reduces the amount of payment. laborer. It would also eliminate the second provision, which reduces Social Security benefits for surviving spouses and family members of these workers.
The measure has been introduced in various forms over the years, but like many legislative proposals, it has never been enacted.
“I’ve been working in the league for 25 years and I don’t remember ever not having a version,” Benton said.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.) and Rep. Garrett Graves (R-Louisiana), passed 327 late Tuesday night in a last-ditch effort to derail the bill in the House. It was passed with a majority of 75 votes. The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus failed.
WEP affects approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and approximately 800,000 retirees in GPO.
What will happen to the Social Security Fairness Act in the future?
Despite having 62 co-sponsors in the Senate, the bill still needs to be tabled for a vote by House leadership, which will happen soon.
Benton said the bill “will expire on December 31, after the end of the second Congress.” “Not only would this bill have to start from scratch, but a new person would have to introduce it.”
Republican and Democratic senators who introduced the bill in their respective chambers either did not run for reelection or lost reelection, as did the case of Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who introduced the bill in the Senate.
If the Social Security Fairness Act goes to the Senate for a vote, it is expected to pass, having already secured 62 co-sponsors, exceeding the majority needed to get President Joe Biden to sign it.
If signed into law, the change would be effective for benefits paid after December 2023.
What does the Social Security Fairness Act do?
The bill would eliminate two provisions that reduce retirement benefits for public employees and their surviving spouses and family members: the Windfall Exemption Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset Provision (GPO), Spanberger and Graves said. They argue that these provisions amount to theft of public officials’ property. advantage.
“For more than 40 years, the Social Security Trust Fund has been artificially propped up by stolen benefits paid by millions of Americans and deserved by their families,” the group said in a Nov. 13 statement. ” he said.
As it stands, WEP reduces Social Security benefits for workers whose jobs are not covered by Social Security and who also receive a state pension. For example, if you do not earn Social Security through a public school job, but have paid into the Social Security system for enough quarters to qualify, Social Security applies part-time or during the summer. This also includes teachers who work in jobs that are subject to change. .
The GPO affects spousal benefits for people who work for the federal, state, or local governments, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers, whose occupations are not covered by Social Security. A GPO reduces the benefits received by a surviving spouse who also receives a government pension by two-thirds, and in many cases completely offsets the benefits.
For example, under the GPO, a person receiving a $900 spousal benefit from Social Security but also receiving a $1,000 non-qualified pension would see their Social Security benefits reduced by $667. Masu. That would leave them with $233 in spousal benefits from Social Security.
Under the Social Security Equity Act, the same person would receive the full $900 spousal benefit.
“Workers should be able to count on the retirement benefits they’ve earned,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the bill’s original co-sponsor. “The time has come to pass the Social Security Fairness Act so that government workers, their families, and people with disabilities can have multiple sources of retirement income without penalty.”
What are the chances that the Social Security Fairness Act will pass?
The biggest objection to this bill is cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost more than $190 billion over 10 years.
Benton said TSCL supports Social Security reform to resolve the expected debt surplus in 2033-2034, adding that “total shortfalls in the already troubled trust fund will continue for six months to a year.” It will be faster,” he said.
“The long-term solvency of Social Security is an issue that Congress must address, but this is an issue that will require the Virginians, Louisianans, and people across America who did their part and provided the income to retire with dignity. It’s quite another thing to be allowed to do it,” Graves said. Spanberger said in a joint statement.
