Efforts to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, which aims to expand Social Security benefits, are ramping up, with bipartisan support in the House. This legislation would eliminate provisions that reduce Social Security payments to retirees who also collect pensions from non-covered jobs like state and federal workers. The bill has been in the making for decades, with various versions introduced over the years but failing to get enacted.
The bill was passed by the House in a 327-75 vote, but it now faces a time constraint since it needs to be passed in the Senate within six weeks. If not, the bill will have to be reintroduced in a new session of Congress. The legislation addresses the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which affect millions of Social Security beneficiaries and retirees. The Senate, with 62 cosponsors, needs to bring the bill up for a vote before the end of the current session of Congress.
The Social Security Fairness Act received bipartisan support in the House, but some lawmakers who introduced the bill in their respective chambers will no longer be in office in the new session of Congress. If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, the changes would be effective for benefits payable after December 2023. The WEP and GPO provisions currently in place reduce Social Security benefits for public workers and their surviving spouses, which the bill aims to eliminate, providing workers with the retirement benefits they have earned.
Opposition to the bill mainly stems from its cost, estimated to be over $190 billion over a decade, which could impact the overall financial health of the Social Security trust funds. Advocates argue that addressing the long-term solvency of Social Security is a separate issue from ensuring that workers who have contributed to the system can retire with dignity. The bill seeks to rectify what its sponsors describe as the unfair reduction of benefits for government workers and their families, as well as individuals with disabilities.
Supporters of the Social Security Fairness Act stress the importance of passing the bill to provide workers with the retirement benefits they have earned and to prevent the unfair reduction of their benefits. Lawmakers are optimistic about the bill’s chances of passing in the Senate, given the bipartisan support and the urgency to act quickly before the end of the legislative session. If successful, the legislation would have a significant impact on millions of Americans who have been affected by the current provisions reducing their Social Security benefits.
