The Senate passed a legislation early Saturday to raise checks for Social Security that could benefit millions of individuals in the nation including public servants working as teachers, firefighters and police officers. A legislation that marked history going forward to the desk of the President, Joe Biden scrapped decades old cuts into people’s pensions based on Social Security Benefits almost 3 million people in the United States. Advocates of the bill say it redresses a long-standing inequity, though it is expected to further strain the Social Security Trust Funds.
“Millions of retired teachers and firefighters and letter carriers and state and local workers have waited decades for this moment. No longer will public retirees see their hard-earned Social Security benefits robbed from them,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
It rescinds two provisions: the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, both of which reduced the Social Security benefits available to beneficiaries who had other types of retirement income, like public retirement plans from states or municipalities.
Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a long-time proponent of the bill, highlighted the fairness of the bill: “Social Security is a bedrock of our middle class. It’s retirement security that Americans pay into and earn over a lifetime.” He added, “These workers serve the public. They protect our communities. They teach our kids. They pay into Social Security just like everyone else.”
Public service retirees will realize an increase in their monthly Social Security payments. This boost will add approximately $195 billion to federal deficits over the next decade, and speed the projected date of insolvency of the Social Security Trust Funds by about six months. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033 would see a lifetime benefit reduced by $25,000 due to the change.
Opponents of the bill said that ending the current reductions is fair but that the change won’t be financially sustainable. “We caved to the pressure of the moment instead of doing this on a sustainable basis,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
The changes to Social Security will also put more stress on the Social Security Administration, which is already experiencing shortages in staffing. The agency now operates with the lowest workforce level in 50 years and did not receive any added funding in the recent spending bills passed by the government.
But Republicans who support the bill argue that addressing the inequity for public service retirees is a necessary and long-overdue step. “They have earned these benefits. This is an unfair, inequitable penalty,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Republicans support the bill but continue to discuss broader measures to improve Social Security’s financial health. Some, such as Sen. Rand Paul, suggest raising the retirement age to 70. While daunting, proponents feel that these reforms must be implemented to ensure the survival of the program. “There’s so much riding on us getting this right and having the courage to fix Social Security over the next few years,” said Tillis. “We will rue the day that we failed to do it.”
