The Social Security Fairness Act was passed in the House with a majority on 12 November 2024. The Act will end the theft of Social Security funds that millions of Americans deserve. People who wish to get a clear picture of the Act can check out the article and learn everything about it.
HR 82 Social Security Fairness Act
The elimination of WEP and GPO provisions from Social Security laws would provide a secure retirement for people, survivors, widowers, and widows who chose a second career after retiring from public service. According to reports, millions of Americans do not receive the retirement benefit they deserve for which they have contributed.
The IAFF and FOP’s support has finally seemed fruitful. Congressman Higgins has advocated for this Act for more than seven years, the decade-long battle has finally reached some result. For many years the bill was discussed in the House and before the Senate but it was finally passed.
What is the need for the Social Security Fairness Act?
Congress members advocate the need for the Act as the WEP and GPO provisions of Social Security are unfair to the people who contributed to Social Security during their working days for secure retirement.
According to the reports, millions of Americans who worked as public servants, such as Police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other local or state government workers who chose a second career after retirement to support their families get partial benefit or 100% offset benefits.
The provisions WEP and GPO are two separate provisions that reduce the monthly Social Security retirement benefit for workers or family members if they are employed or receive a pension from employment not covered by Social Security.
Let’s see what the two provisions say:
- WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision):
- The provision is applicable to people who receive Social Security as well as a pension from non-covered work depending on their 30 years of earnings from self-employment or self-employment.
- Due to the provision, many retirees or disabled beneficiaries and their dependents do not receive the benefit. Based on 2023 data, around 2.1 million retirees were affected by this provision. The provision allows a 50% reduction of non-covered pensions in the Social Security Pension.
- GPO (Government Pension Offset):
- The provision reduces or denies the Social Security of widows, widowers, and spouses of people who also receive pensions from state, local, or federal government employment non-covered in Social Security.
- It reduces the spousal benefits of the individuals dollar-for-dollar if the worker receives Social Security benefits as well.
- As per reports around 745,679 beneficiaries were affected by the provision, where 51% are spouses and 49% are widowers.
- The provision offsets 50% benefit for the spouse and 100% for widows (-oers) receiving a pension from non-covered employment.
What’s the next step after the Social Security Fairness Act passed in the House?
After gaining the majority in the House for the Social Security Fairness Act the next passage for the bill to become a law is the Senate. The bill will now go to the bench of the Senate, where the bill is assigned to another committee. Currently, the SSFA has 62 sponsors in the Senate.
The US representatives Abigail Spanberger and Graves have urged Senate leadership to keep the momentum and put effort into voting and passing the bill to provide secure retirement benefits fairly for Americans and their dependents who have been denied or offset due to WEP/ GPO provisions.
The Federal Manager Association is requesting the Senate to start the discussion or vote on the bill before Congress ends this time. According to Hatton, the major challenge in passing the bill in the Senate is convincing the Senate members. The bill is passed in the Senate after the floor debate and a majority vote of 51 of 100.
Potential Impact of the Social Security Fairness Act HR 82
If the SSFA bill passes in both the Houses and Senate, it will be sent to the President for approval either signing or vetoing the bill. If the bill becomes law, the SSFA can impact public servants in the following ways:
- The public servant receiving pensions for non-covered employment would be able to receive the retirement benefits they deserve.
- According to reports around 46,000 and 7,800 Virginia beneficiaries and overall 2 million Americans will receive their deserved social security benefits.
- The bill will end the theft of Social Security funds that have been going on for many years from retirees and their families.
- Americans who have worked hard and contributed to Social Security to secure their retirement, especially firefighters, police officers, and others who worked second jobs for the well-being of their families.
The SSFA bill is finally passed in the House, which is a great win for the long battle, now the bill will go to the Senate floor, let’s see what happens there.
