Efforts are gaining momentum in the Senate to hold a vote on a bill to expand Social Security benefits, as it passed the House Social Security Fairness Act enjoys rare bipartisan support But there is only six weeks to pass it.
“We're completely optimistic,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League, or TSCL, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting retirement benefits. “There's so much momentum, if it's not passed now, a lot of people will lose hope.”
Decades in the making, this legislation would eliminate a provision that reduces Social Security payments for some retirees who also draw pensions from jobs that are not included in the retirement program, such as state and federal employees. Which includes teachers, police officers and US Post. worker. It would also eliminate another provision that reduces Social Security benefits for surviving spouses and family members of those workers.
Various forms of the measure have been introduced over the years, but like many legislative proposals, they failed to be enacted.
“I've been in the league for 25 years and I don't remember ever having any version of this,” Benton said.
Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Garrett Graves, R-La. Introduced by, the bill was passed by the House by 327-75 votes late on Tuesday, after a last-ditch effort by members to derail it. The ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus failed.
About WEP 2 million Social Security Beneficiaries and GPOs Approx. 800,000 retired.
What happens next for the Social Security Fairness Act?
Despite having 62 cosponsors in the Senate, the bill still needs to be brought up for a vote by the chamber's leadership, and soon.
“The bill will expire at the end of the second session of Congress on Dec. 31,” Benton said. “Not only will this bill have to be started from scratch, but a new person will have to introduce it.”
Republican and Democratic lawmakers who introduced the measures in their respective bodies either did not run for re-election or lost their re-election bids, as was the case with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, who The bill was introduced in the Senate.
If the Social Security Fairness Act comes up for a vote in the Senate, it is expected to pass, having already secured 62 co-sponsors — the majority needed to send it to President Joe Biden for his signature. Will cross.
If signed into law, the changes would take effect for benefits payable after December 2023.
What does the Social Security Fairness Act do?
The legislation would cut two provisions that reduce retirement payments for public employees and their surviving spouses and family members, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which Spanberger and Graves argue would reduce retirement payments for public employees and their surviving spouses and family members. It is tantamount to theft from those workers. benefits.
On November 13 he said, “For more than 40 years, the Social Security trust fund has been artificially inflated by stolen benefits from which millions of Americans paid and their families were entitled.” statement,
As it stands, WEP reduces Social Security benefits for workers who also receive a public pension from a job that is not covered by Social Security. For example, this would include teachers who do not earn Social Security through their public school positions, but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security, even if they do not qualify. Pay into the system in sufficient quarters.
The GPO affects spousal benefits of people who work for federal, state or local governments — including police officers, firefighters and teachers — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO cuts benefits by two-thirds for surviving spouses who also draw a government pension, often offsetting the benefits entirely.
For example, under the GPO, someone who receives a spousal benefit of $900 from Social Security but who also has a non-covered pension of $1,000 will have their Social Security benefits reduced by $667. This would give them a remaining spousal benefit of $233 from Social Security.
Under the Social Security Fairness Act, a single person would receive the full $900 spousal benefit.
The bill's original cosponsor, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, said, “Workers should be able to count on the retirement benefits they have earned.” “Now is the time to pass the Social Security Fairness Act so that government workers and their families and people with disabilities are not penalized for earning multiple sources of retirement income.”
What are the chances of the Social Security Fairness Act passing?
The biggest opposition to this bill is regarding its cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost more than $190 billion More than a decade.
“This will reduce the combined trust fund deficit by six months to a year at a time when it is already in trouble,” said Benton, who added that TSCL will seek Social Security funding to resolve its projected bankruptcy in 2033 to 2034. Supports improvement.
“The long-term solvency of Social Security is an issue that Congress must address – but an issue that is entirely separate from allowing Virginians, Louisianans and Americans across our country who did their part and earned their living to keep their earnings respected. “Contributed to retiring with,” Graves and Spanberger said in their joint statement.