Gillibrand pushes for bill ending Social Security cuts for government pensioners

Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand is pushing for the U.S. Senate to quickly pass a law that would extend full Social Security benefits to government employees who are enrolled in pension plans.

People who work for the federal, state or local government aren’t charged the Social Security payroll tax – if they work in a government job for their entire lives they are never made eligible for the benefit.

WINDFALL ELIMINATION

When government workers retire, they get pensions for retirement instead.

But for people who work in the private sector and do pay into the Social Security system for a period of time, their benefits are reduced because of that government pension.

The current law includes a Windfall Elimination Provision that cuts benefits for anyone who receives a pension from a job that didn’t pay into Social Security, and a Government Pension Offset that also reduces benefits for the spouses of people who receive pensions and people who receive those pensions for their dead spouse.

“The purpose of these two provisions was to help prevent former government employees from so-called double dipping and receiving more in retirement benefits than is fair,” Gillibrand, D-NY said in a virtual press conference Wednesday.

“But in reality, when these individuals need to supplement their salaries with additional work, they only receive a fraction of the retirement benefits that they’ve earned.”

SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS

Gillibrand is calling on lawmakers to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, which would revoke the WEP and GPO reductions.

The measure passed in the House of Representatives last week with overwhelming bipartisan support, and 62 members of the Senate have cosponsored that chamber’s version of the bill.

She said revoking the reductions and extending benefits to the roughly 2.5 million people affected would raise annual Social Security expenditures by $19 billion.

If passed, affected people could claim up to one year’s worth of backpay.

“Going forward, I will be fighting to make sure (the Social Security Fairness Act) receives swift passage in the Senate,” Gillibrand said.

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