The Social Security Fairness Act, which was passed by the House with support from both parties, has less than six weeks to pass. This means that more work is being done to get the Senate to vote on a plan to raise Social Security benefits.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York held a press conference on Wednesday to urge her colleagues to support the resolution. On Thursday, she continued to push for it on social media.
Teachers and firefighters who have retired should get the Social Security payments they have worked for. That is why I am fighting to get rid of rules that unfairly limit government workers’ Social Security payments. The Democrat wrote, “Let us get it done!”
The next increase in Social Security benefits is already in the Senate’s hands
The last calls come at a time when people are worried about what will happen to the safety net, which has been in place for almost 90 years and was set up by Franklin Roosevelt to protect the elderly from economic instability.
A recent Bankrate poll found that 53% of workers plan to use their Social Security payments to pay for their basic needs after they retire. In the meantime, 73% of those who answered are worried that they will not get Social Security when they retire.
Also, Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), an advocacy group working to protect retirement benefits, was cautiously optimistic about the current plan.
Since it is moving so fast, a lot of people will give up hope if it is not passed soon.
The bill has been in the works for decades and would get rid of a clause that lowers Social Security benefits for retirees who also get a pension from a job that is not covered by the retirement program. These are teachers, police officers, and US postal workers, among others.
It would also get rid of a second clause that lowers Social Security benefits for workers’ surviving spouses and family members. The idea has been put forward in different forms over the years, but, like many other legislative proposals, it has not been made law.
Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) introduced the bill, which was passed by the House late Tuesday night by a vote of 327-75.
Members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus tried one last time to stop it, but failed. The GPO affects about 800,000 retirees and the WEP affects about 2 million people who get Social Security.
What is the Social Security Fairness Act’s future?
Even though 62 senators have signed on to support the bill, it still needs to be looked at by the leaders of the chamber before it can be voted on.
This needs to happen as soon as possible. In the case of Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who introduced the bill in the Senate, the Republicans and Democrats who did the same in their own legislatures either did not run for office again or lost their elections.
62 people have now signed on to support the Social Security Fairness Act, which is more than what is needed to send it to President Joe Biden to be signed. It is likely to pass if it is put to a vote in the Senate.
If they were made law, the changes would affect Social Security benefits that are paid after December 2023.
The bill would get rid of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which are rules that limit retirement benefits for government workers and their surviving spouses and family members.
Spanberger and Graves say that these rules are the same thing as benefit theft. If a worker gets a public pension from a job that is not covered by Social Security and also gets Social Security benefits, the WEP cuts their Social Security benefits.
Teachers who work part-time or during the summer and are covered by Social Security might be included.
However, teachers who work in public schools and have paid into the system for enough quarters to be eligible do not receive Social Security benefits from their jobs.
People who work for the federal, state, or local government, like teachers, firefighters, or police officers, will have their spouse benefits cut off if they have a job that is not covered by Social Security.
The GPO cuts benefits by two-thirds for surviving spouses who also get a government pension. Often, the cuts completely eliminate benefits.
This means that a person with a $1,000 non-covered pension and a $900 spousal benefit from Social Security would get $667 less in Social Security income because of the GPO. That means their last Social Security spousal benefit would be $233.
