A local Congressman is working with House Democrats to fix provisions in the Social Security Act that punishes public sector retirees.
13th District Congressman has introduced House Resolution 82, known as the Social Security Fairness Act to eliminate two provisions which he says goes after police, firefighters, and teachers when they retire and go on Social Security: “I want to give those seniors the income they deserve, especially with the COLA that was announced yesterday, and also make sure that we help public employees – our teachers, our firefighters, our cops – who have been adversely impacted by a couple of provisions in the Social Security Code, which are called the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. My bill, in a very bi-partisan way, would fix those two provisions that actually punish teachers who may be eligible for their spouse’s benefits who may not be a public sector employee. It’s something that now has over 200 co-sponsors. I need 290 to make sure that we get it called to the floor and we can finally fix this.”
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association and the National Fraternal Order of Police support the passage of the bill. The changes would be effective for benefits payable after December 2021 if passed. The bill currently sits in the House Ways & Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security awaiting a call to the House floor.