Senate Votes on Social Security Fairness Act — What to Know

What's New

The Senate is due to vote on an act that would repeal restrictions limiting or eliminating Social Security benefits for certain types of workers.

Why It's Important

The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal limitations on receiving Social Security benefits for around 3 million people. Under current rules, two provisions reduce some public servants' retirement benefits, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters. The vote could come as soon as this week, at the end of the congressional session and close to the end of Democratic control of the chamber.

What To Know

The bill passed a procedural vote on Wednesday, December 19, with 73 votes.

If it becomes law, the Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate two provisions: the Windfall Elimination Provision(WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pensions from public sector jobs, such as state and federal employees, that are or were not required to make Social Security payroll tax contributions, even if they contributed to Social Security through other jobs in their career and are otherwise eligible for benefits. This provision currently affects approximately 2 million beneficiaries.

The GPO decreases spousal or survivor benefits for retired federal, state, and local government workers who did not pay into Social Security through payroll taxes. This rule impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.

It was approved by the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote of 327-75 in November. The bill attracted headlines earlier this fall when its House sponsors, Republican Representative Garrett Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, succeeded in filing a discharge petition—a method of taking a bill to the House floor for consideration without a report from the relevant committee—to force a vote.

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and Maine Republican Susan Collins.

A stock image of a Social Security card and U.S. Dollars. The Social Security Fairness Act has already passed in the House with resounding bipartisan support. GETTY

What Would Change?

If the bill passes the Senate with the required 60 votes and is signed into law by the president, it will grant increased benefits for everyone currently affected by the WEP and GPO.

A 2020 Urban Institute study found that removing both provisions would improve benefits for 4.5 percent of all beneficiaries by 2025, with an average annual increase of about $7,300.

However, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this change would add approximately $195 billion to federal deficits over a decade.

What People Are Saying

Representative Abigail Spanberger in a statement: "We have the opportunity to deliver the benefits earned by every police officer who worked a second job to make ends meet, every firefighter who began a second career to support their families after retiring, and every widow who is denied survivor benefits she would have earned—if not for choosing to serve her community. Congress cannot allow these Americans to wait another 40 years for fairness."

Senator Susan Collins in a statement: "Our dedicated public servants, such as our teachers who help prepare our children for future success, or our police officers and firefighters who help keep our communities safe, should receive the full Social Security benefits that they have earned."

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis in a statement: "We are 10 years away from Social Security reaching insolvency. This bill would take $200 billion out of the Social Security Trust Fund without offsetting any payment to it. It pulls insolvency forward six months."

Speaking to Newsweek, Shawn DuBravac, CEO and president at Avrio Institute: "Beyond the trust fund solvency issue, increasing new and adjusted benefit claims could add an operational burden to the SSA [Social Security Administration] which might require additional funding in order to handle the increase in workload. The agency is already dealing with funding shortfalls and this could exacerbate that pressure."

What Happens Next

The bill will be voted on in the Senate this week. While it enjoyed plenty of bipartisan support in the House, it remains to be seen if Republicans will join Democrats and pass it. The bill has 13 Senate Republican co-sponsors.