US Senate Passes Bill to Increase Social Security Benefits for Public Sector Workers
The US Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Saturday to increase Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million public sector workers, including firemen, policemen, and teachers. The bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, eliminates two policies that have reduced Social Security benefits for public service employees who do not pay into Social Security but have paid into the program through other jobs or through their spouses.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will be repealed, affecting individuals who receive pensions from jobs that are not covered by Social Security. The WEP reduces benefits for retired or disabled workers who have fewer than 30 years of significant earnings from employment covered by Social Security, while the GPO reduces spousal or surviving spousal benefits of those who receive pensions from non-covered employment.
The bill, which passed with 76 votes in favor and 20 against, is expected to apply to benefits payable after December 2023. The legislation will affect approximately 28% of state and local government employees covered by alternative retirement systems and most permanent civilian federal employees hired before January 1, 1984.
Supporters of the bill, including Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), argue that the current formulas penalize public sector workers for choosing to serve their communities. Collins shared the story of a retired public school teacher in Maine who was forced to return to work at 72 after her spouse’s death due to the GPO provision.
Critics argue that the legislation is unpaid for and will hasten the Social Security trust fund’s insolvency, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating a cost of nearly $200 billion over 10 years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicts that the bill could advance the program’s insolvency date by six months. Others argue that the WEP provisions should be reformed rather than eliminated, as they believe that it is a reasonable means to prevent overgenerous and unintended benefits to certain workers.
