The Social Security Fairness Act has just passed | Opinion

Let us explore the history and facts about Social Security before Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy dismantle whatever pieces are still there.

Congress just passed the Social Security Fairness Act that restores full Social Security benefits to teachers, law enforcement officers, social workers, firefighters, and other public employees who have already paid Social Security taxes throughout their working lives. The Social Security Fairness Act restores the rights of those public employees to claim their Social Security benefits by repealing two provisions of the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP) and Government Pension Offset Act (GPO) that were signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Under the leadership of Senators Susan Collins and Bill Cassidy, the Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act just before Elon and Vivek took control of our money. Twenty senators objected to this new law on the basis it would reduce the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund by six months. They also counted on the public’s reaction to the word “government pension.” If firefighters, teachers and police officers already have a government pension, why would they also need their earned Social Security Retirement benefits as part of their retirement?

Anticipating there will be a lot of misinformation about the benefits of the Social Security Fairness Act, and what can be done with the Social Security Trust Fund, it is essential first to explore how teachers, firefighters, and other public employees have been unfairly Impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset Law since 1983.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) impacted several workers and their spouses. Traditionally, a young person’s first job is not as a government worker but as a waitress, delivery worker, clerk, and part-time staff member of various employers. From this starting point, young workers will continue to work on multiple jobs, not realizing that in each of those jobs, they are contributing to Social Security as they add quarters toward obtaining eligibility for the Social Security program. Throughout their working life, they never realized that if they ever got a government job, they would lose their accumulated Social Security eligibility benefit.

We are not discussing getting a government job as an agency head or senior-level worker. We are talking about being hired as a teacher, a social worker, a firefighter, a law enforcer, or any position in a government agency. For example, independent school districts and public schools are government agencies. Also, the Veterans Administration, CDC, and EPA are all government agencies. Working for any of the above government agencies makes the worker eligible for a pension, but by default, based on the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provisions and Government Pension Offset law, they will lose the money they have already paid into the Social Security Trust Fund.

This elimination provision reduces workers’ Social Security benefits by two-thirds of their government pension. For example, if you get a monthly Civil Service Pension of $3,000, two-thirds or $2,000 must be deducted from your already earned Social Security benefits. To get a $3,000 pension, you have to be at the top of the salary scale, which most federal workers do not reach. The standard reduction in Social Security benefits in 2024 for a 62-year-old worker under the Windfall Elimination Provision is $587 per month. Some workers face higher deductions, sufficiently higher that eliminate their entire payroll contribution to Social Security payroll taxes before being hired as a teacher or a firefighter,

This Government Pension Offset Provision only affected the workers? Unfortunately, that is not correct. It also impacted the spouse and former spouses of the worker. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) is like the WEP, but instead of reducing the worker’s benefits, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduces the benefits for the spouse or former spouse of that worker who can no longer claim spousal benefits based on a spouse’s or former spouse’s earnings record.

This new law is appropriately named the Social Security Fairness Act because if a worker pays Social Security payroll taxes for a minimum of forty quarters during their entire working life, it is fair that they are entitled to that benefit once they meet the retirement age. It is unfair that Government Pension Offset only targets Social Security, not 401K, annuities, or other financial retirement tools.Now, let us look at other facts about the Social Security Trust Fund that Elon and Vivek are looking at. This information will help us understand what is at stake.

Money paid to Social Security-eligible recipients comes from the “Social Security Trust Fund.” The Social Security Trust Fund is not part of the federal budget. Since 1986, the Social Security Trust Fund has been out of the federal budget. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 legally reaffirmed and established this. It is still the law of the land. Social Security is not part of the federal budget; therefore, moving money from this trust fund to “reduce” or “balance” or manipulate the federal budget violates the law.

Social Security Trust Fund eligible recipients include children. We tend to forget that the Social Security Trust Fund provides payment to children who lost at least one working parent who met the eligibility requirements for the program. Their payroll contribution made the child or children eligible to receive Social Security payments until the age of 18. A historical fact that is forgotten is that a significant number of children who lost a parent during 911 began receiving payments from the Social Security Trust Fund before any annuity, life insurance, or 401K began reviewing their cases. As of June 30, 2024, 503 million children have received monthly Social Security benefits. A significant number are survivors of a deceased working parent who paid into the Social Security payroll taxes.

Presidents and Congress have used the Social Security Trust Fund to fund other government programs, including military operations. The Social Security Trust Fund contains many paper promises that amount to anywhere between 1.7 trillion to 2.9 trillion. These “I Owe U” are the government’s assurance that the present and future Social Security eligible recipients will not be shortchanged and the money that has been borrowed will not be stolen. Any future discussion about the program’s future should first address how privatizing Social Security will repay the paper promises.

As of 2024, only individuals whose salary is $168,600 or less pay Social Security payroll taxes on their entire salary. It is projected to increase to $176,100 in 2025. If your salary exceeds that, you do not have to pay Social Security payroll taxes beyond the $176,100 projected for 2025. Why not increase the salary cap for Social Security payroll taxes to $500,000 or, better yet, remove the cap so that payroll taxes are paid on the entire salary?

Before determining when the Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money, let us ask Congress to repay the trillions of dollars in paper promises owed to the Social Security Trust Fund. Let us increase the Social Security salary cap from $176,100 projected for 2025 to $500,000. Not having to pay Social Security payroll taxes on the entire salary or at least a more significant portion of the wage limits the amount of income that supports the Social Security Trust Fund and shortens the program’s financial solvency.

To the 118th Congress, you are now leaving behind an important legacy that your children and grandchildren will appreciate: Passing the Social Security Fairness Act that repeals the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP) and Government Pension Offset Law (GPO) is one of the significant contributions you made to the American working class. Thank you.

Gema G. Hernandez, DPA, is former secretary, Florida Department of Elder Affairs, retired university professor and part-time resident of Fort Myers Beach.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: The Social Security Fairness Act has just passed | Opinion

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