FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 24

92^ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1722L.01I

         Whereas, the federal Windfall Elimination Provision can reduce the amount of a person's Social Security retirement or disability benefits if the person receives a pension from work not covered by Social Security but worked at other jobs where Social Security taxes were paid long enough to qualify for retirement or disability benefits; and

            Whereas, the federal Windfall Elimination Provision was designed to prevent a windfall to persons who would unfairly benefit from provisions aimed at low-income workers. Social Security benefits replace a percentage of a worker's pre-retirement earnings and the benefit computation formula includes factors that make sure lower-paid workers get a higher return than highly paid workers; and

            Whereas, prior to 1983 and the enactment of the federal Windfall Elimination Provision, people who worked in jobs not covered by Social Security received benefits that were computed as if they were long-term, low-wage workers, and they received the advantage of higher percentage benefits in addition to their other pension; and

            Whereas, while the federal Windfall Elimination Provision does not apply to Social Security retirement or disability benefits paid to wives, husbands, widows, and widowers as dependent benefits, hundreds of thousand of Americans have been shocked to discover that their Social Security benefits that they counted on for retirement have been reduced; and

            Whereas, attempts to repeal the federal Windfall Elimination Provision have been made for more than a decade, but none of the bills introduced in the United States Congress have ever made it out of committee; and

            Whereas, the federal Windfall Elimination Provision results in a variety of public workers, including teachers, firefighters, and police officers who pay into a state retirement plan instead of Social Security, receiving less than half of the monthly Social Security benefits for which such workers would otherwise be entitled to and for which they have paid into the Social Security system; and

            Whereas, to date, the only reason given by the federal government for not repealing the federal Windfall Elimination Provision is that the repeal of the provision, while popular, would ultimately be irresponsible because it would cost the federal government millions of dollars to allow these workers to receive both their state pensions and their full Social Security benefits; and

            Whereas, many low-paid public workers took on second jobs to supplement their salaries and now face the grim reality that the retirement benefits they believed they had earned and would be receiving have been taken away from them:

            Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-second General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the 108th Congress to repeal the federal Windfall Elimination Provision which reduces the Social Security benefits for which many low-paid public workers in this county have paid into the Social Security system and would otherwise be entitled to receive; and

            Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional Delegation.