The House of Representatives has introduced and passed a new bill that could increase the monthly benefit for millions of Social Security beneficiaries. This is the Social Security Fairness Act, which received bipartisan support and is now being considered by the Senate.
The Social Security Fairness Act
Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat from Virginia, and Garret Graves, a Republican from Louisiana, have introduced this bill to repeal two federal policies that currently limit Social Security payments for approximately 2.8 million Americans who work in federal, state, and local jobs.
According to a joint statement, “By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives showed up for the millions of Americans—police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other local and state public servants—who worked a second job to make ends meet or began a second career to support their families after retiring from public service.
A bipartisan majority of the United States House of Representatives voted to provide a secure retirement to the hundreds of thousands of spouses, widows, and widowers who are denied their spouse’s benefits simply because they chose service careers.”
Which provisions did it repeal? The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
The SSA defines the WEP as “a formula used to adjust Social Security worker benefits for people who receive “non-covered pensions” and qualify for Social Security benefits based on other Social Security-covered earnings.”
An employer that does not deduct Social Security taxes from your paycheck, such as state and local governments or non-U.S. employers, pays a non-covered pension. This provision currently affects around 2 million people.
The GPO modifies Social Security spousal or widow(er) benefits for individuals who receive “non-covered pensions.” This rule affects approximately 800,000 retirees.
By repealing the bill it would allow to:
- Repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.
- Eliminate the government pension offset, which can reduce Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.
- Eliminate the windfall elimination provision, which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.
All of these provisions would help average Americans make ends meet by increasing benefits for those who are already subject to the WEP and GPO.
The bad news is that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, implementing this bill would increase federal deficits by $195 billion over ten years, contributing to the Social Security shortfall even more.
Regardless, Graves explains, “This has been 40 years of treating people differently and discriminating against a specific group of workers. They are not overpaid, nor are they underworked,” he stated.
Despite the House victory, the bill still has a long way to go because it has not been put to a vote in the Senate and the president must sign it into law, but efforts are being made to ensure that it passes with as little disruption as possible.
Spanberger and Graves, along with Senate sponsors Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Susan Collins, lobbied Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill up for a vote.
Their passionate plea stated that Americans affected by the provisions “are being punished for supporting and protecting our neighbors and families, educating our children, providing healthcare to our Veterans, delivering our mail, and more.”
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