Good news for civil servants: Senate to end Social Security penalties

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY-D) announced earlier this week that he would bring the Social Security Fairness Act to a vote in Congress’s upper chamber just as Democrats are preparing to lose control of the legislative body.

The Senate Majority leader called on his Republican colleagues to join Democrats in passing legislation to increase retirement incomes for workers and their qualifying spouses, children, and survivors.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (D), who lost re-election in November, introduced the bill, which has been co-sponsored by 62 senators, including over a dozen Republicans. Assuming none of these sponsors have removed their support, the bill has the necessary votes to pass and be sent to the House of Representatives.

The benefits included in the bill for public servants

The bill contains provisions that will greatly benefit some public servants by ending Social Security penalties that reduce their income in retirement. According to Congress.gov, if enacted, the law would eliminate “ provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.” As noted by Masschuessets Senator Ed Markey (D), the bill could affect nurses, teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers by making them eligible to receive Social Security benefits.

For instance, imagine a teacher receiving a pension that makes them ineligible for Social Security benefits, even though their time in the workforce paying into the retirement benefits program would have made them eligible for a small monthly payment. This law would allow those workers access to the income they paid taxes on during the early years of their careers.

Similar legal provisions that lead to smaller Social Security payments for “spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own” will also be repealed. Lastly, if enacted, the new law would protect “individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes” by abolishing the windfall elimination provision.

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