It looks like the Social Security Fairness Act will pass soon, but there isn’t a Senate vote planned for today. It has until the end of the year to pass or go back to the drawing board. To go back a little, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives in November and is now waiting to be signed into law by the Senate.
This bill is very important because it would get rid of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These are two rules that lower Social Security benefits for some retirees who also get pensions.
People who get so-called “non-covered” pension income from jobs (usually in the public sector) that didn’t pay Social Security payroll taxes will have their benefits cut by the WEP. The decrease can be big—up to half of the pension amount. If someone’s pension isn’t covered, the GPO cuts their survivor or spouse benefits.
The GPO doesn’t affect as many people, but it does cut Social Security benefits by two-thirds of the pension amount. You could lose your Social Security benefit if two-thirds of your government pension is more than your benefit. Together, they have an effect on almost 3 million Americans, such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and people who work for the post office.
Why is the Senate not voting on the Social Security Fairness Act?
Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Susan Collins (R-ME) have all written letters and spoken out strongly in favor of passing this bill for the millions of people who will be affected. Rarely does a bill have support from both parties, and this one does. Its popularity makes it look like a sure thing.
Some people aren’t so sure, though. For example, Senator Angus King (I-ME) said that he had heard that the bill doesn’t have enough votes to pass and that some Republican senators may have given up on it to stay in line with their party.
The Social Security Fairness Act would cost $196 billion over the next ten years, which would put Social Security in debt six months faster. This could be because of the cost. A lot of people don’t think that the fact that the program is in danger is a reason not to pass the bill, but it’s clear that some people do.
King said he still thinks the bill will pass if it is attached to a “must pass” spending bill like the National Defense Authorization Act. He said, “I’d take that over even odds.”
If it doesn’t pass, Congress will have to rewrite the bill, and this time they might change the parts that are unfair to make them more fair instead of getting rid of them.
“At a time when we’re already borrowing $2 trillion a year and retirees are already slated to see a 21% benefit cut—an average of $16,500 for a newly retired couple in 2033—in just nine years, why would we make it a 22%, $17,300 cut in eight and a half years instead?” asks Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
It’s not so clear-cut for those who are affected. Susan Dixon, 68, a retired schoolteacher from San Clemente, California, and president of the California Retired Teachers Association, says, “It is shameful that such a widely supported measure has yet to be scheduled for a vote.”
I’m going to the rally to make sure our voices are heard and to demand that something be done for the millions of retirees who deserve respect and fair treatment. Also, it’s very important that our Senators show up for votes over the next two weeks.
Don Hillbish, a retired police sergeant from Reading, Pennsylvania, plays music to her voice. He started working as a newspaper boy when he was 14 years old and had part-time jobs from 15 to college and during his whole career as a police officer, just like many other police officers and firefighters.
“From 1969 until about 2018, I worked and paid into Social Security.” Because I get a pension from the city, my monthly payment dropped from $1,100 to about $350 after WEP and GPO.
As they say, they don’t want more benefits; they just want the ones they deserve for what they’ve done.
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