The Senate passes Social Security benefits increases for many civil service retirees

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to improve Social Security payments for millions of people, and to emphasize long-term priorities for former government workers through Congress in one of its final acts of the year.

The bipartisan bill, next headed for President Joe Biden, would end long-term cuts to Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million people who earn pensions from jobs in federal, state and local government, or public service jobs such as teachers, firefighters and police. Advocates say the Social Security Administration is entitled to a decade-old exemption, even though it will put more burden on the Social Security Trust Funds.

The legislation has been decades in the making but the push to pass it came together in the final weeks – and was scrapped at the last minute – by Washington lawmakers before Congress adjourns next year. All Senate Democrats, along with 27 Republicans, voted for the bill, giving it a final vote of 76-20.

“Millions of retired teachers and firefighters and porters and state and local workers have been waiting decades for this moment. “Retirees will no longer see their hard-earned Social Security benefits taken away,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.

The bill repeals two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that limit Social Security benefits to certain recipients if they receive retirement payments from other sources such as a federal or local government public retirement system.

“Social Security is the foundation of our middle class. It's retirement security that Americans pay for and get for life,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who has pushed the proposal for years and will leave Congress after losing re-election.

He added that the current restrictions are “absurd.” These workers serve the community. They protect our communities. They teach our children. They pay into Social Security like everyone else.”

People who currently have a reduction in their Social Security benefits under the exception will see an increase in their monthly payments. But those increased payments would add an estimated $195 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The Social Security Trust Funds are already estimated to be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2035, and the change will accelerate the program's retirement date by nearly half a year. The average two-earner couple retiring in 2033 will see an additional lifetime reduction of $25,000 in their benefits, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Many opponents of the bill agreed that the current cuts are unfair to civil service retirees, but said they could not support the bill when the entire system is facing challenges.

“We allowed the current pressure instead of doing this in a sustainable way,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina who opposed the bill.

The policy changes will also put more work on the Social Security Administration when the agency is already at its lowest staffing level in 50 years. The agency currently has about 56,400 employees — the lowest number since 1972, according to a spokeswoman — as it serves more people than ever. The stopgap federal funding bill also passed early Saturday did not include a funding increase for the agency, which is currently at a hiring freeze.

Still, Republican supporters of the bill say it's a rare opportunity to address what they describe as an unfair portion of the federal law that abuses public service retirees.

“They have received these benefits. This is an unfair, disproportionate punishment,” said Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican.

GOP supporters of the bill also said they would get back to work on major repairs to Social Security. President-elect Donald Trump, however, said he would not affect the benefits, as his administration looks to make deep budget cuts elsewhere.

Senate Republicans are still working on ideas that would put the system on a better financial footing, but also inevitably require a rollback of benefits. Another financial hawk, Sen. Rand Paul pushed Friday for a proposal to gradually raise the Social Security retirement age to 70, although a vote to add that provision to the bill received only three votes in favor.

“We have a lot to do to get this right and have the courage to fix Social Security in the next few years,” Tillis said. “We will cherish the day we failed to do it.”