Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4540 To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide an equitable Social Security formula for individuals with noncovered employment and to provide relief for individuals currently affected by the Windfall Elimi- nation Provision. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Mr. NEAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide an equitable Social Security formula for individuals with noncovered employment and to provide relief for individ- uals currently affected by the Windfall Elimination Pro- vision. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Servants Pro- 4 tection and Fairness Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4540 IH SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE FORMULA EQUALIZING BENEFITS 1 FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WITH NON- 2 COVERED EMPLOYMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(a) of the Social Secu- 4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)) is amended by inserting after 5 paragraph (7) the following: 6 ‘‘(8)(A) In the case of an individual whose primary 7 insurance amount would be computed under paragraph 8 (1) of this subsection— 9 ‘‘(i) who first becomes eligible for an old-age or 10 disability insurance benefit after 2021 and who sub- 11 sequently becomes entitled to such benefit; 12 ‘‘(ii) who has earnings derived from noncovered 13 service performed in a year after 1977 and is enti- 14 tled to a monthly periodic payment based on such 15 earnings; and 16 ‘‘(iii) who has less than 30 years of coverage 17 (as defined for purposes of paragraph (7)(D)), 18 the primary insurance amount of such individual shall be 19 the higher of the amount computed or recomputed under 20 paragraph (7) without regard to this paragraph or the 21 amount computed or recomputed under this paragraph. 22 ‘‘(B) The primary insurance amount of an individual 23 described in subparagraph (A), as computed or recom- 24 puted under this paragraph, shall be the product derived 25 by multiplying— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4540 IH ‘‘(i) the individual’s primary insurance amount, 1 as determined under paragraph (1) of this sub- 2 section and subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, by 3 ‘‘(ii) a fraction— 4 ‘‘(I) the numerator of which is the individ- 5 ual’s average indexed monthly earnings (deter- 6 mined without regard to subparagraph (C)), 7 and 8 ‘‘(II) the denominator of which is an 9 amount equal to the individual’s average in- 10 dexed monthly earnings (as determined under 11 subparagraph (C)), 12 rounded, if not a multiple of $0.10, to the next lower mul- 13 tiple of $0.10. 14 ‘‘(C)(i) For purposes of determining an individual’s 15 primary insurance amount and average indexed monthly 16 earnings pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii)(II) of subpara- 17 graph (B), the individual’s average indexed monthly earn- 18 ings shall be determined by treating all recorded non- 19 covered earnings (as defined in clause (ii)(I)) derived by 20 the individual from noncovered service performed in each 21 year after 1977 as ‘wages’ (as defined in section 209 for 22 purposes of this title), which shall be treated as included 23 in the individual’s adjusted total covered earnings (as de- 24 fined in clause (ii)(II)) for such calendar year together 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4540 IH with amounts consisting of ‘wages’ (as so defined without 1 regard to this subparagraph) paid during such calendar 2 year and self-employment income (as defined in section 3 211(b)) for taxable years ending with or during such cal- 4 endar year. 5 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph: 6 ‘‘(I) The term ‘recorded noncovered earnings’ 7 means earnings derived from noncovered service 8 (other than noncovered service as a member of a 9 uniformed service (as defined in section 210(m))) for 10 which satisfactory evidence is determined by the 11 Commissioner to be available in the records of the 12 Commissioner. 13 ‘‘(II) The term ‘adjusted total covered earnings’ 14 means, in connection with an individual for any cal- 15 endar year, the sum of the wages paid to the indi- 16 vidual during such calendar year (as adjusted under 17 subsection (b)(3)) plus the self-employment income 18 derived by the individual during any taxable year 19 ending with or during such calendar year (as ad- 20 justed under subsection (b)(3)). 21 ‘‘(iii) The Commissioner of Social Security shall pro- 22 vide by regulation or other public guidance for methods 23 for determining whether satisfactory evidence is available 24 in the records of the Commissioner for earnings for non- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4540 IH covered service (other than noncovered service as a mem- 1 ber of a uniformed service (as defined in section 210(m))) 2 to be treated as recorded noncovered earnings. Such meth- 3 ods shall provide for reliance on earnings information pro- 4 vided to the Commissioner by employers and which, as de- 5 termined by the Commissioner, constitute a reasonable 6 basis for treatment of earnings for noncovered service as 7 recorded noncovered earnings. In making determinations 8 under this clause, the Commissioner shall also take into 9 account any documentary or other evidence of earnings de- 10 rived from noncovered service by an individual which is 11 provided by the individual to the Commissioner and which 12 the Commissioner considers appropriate as a reasonable 13 basis for treatment of such earnings as recorded non- 14 covered earnings. 15 ‘‘(iv) In the case of any individual who, at the time 16 of application for old-age or disability insurance benefits 17 under this title, has recorded noncovered earnings in an 18 amount the Commissioner of Social Security determines 19 may entitle the individual to a monthly periodic payment 20 based on such earnings (but whose application does not 21 report such a monthly periodic payment), the Commis- 22 sioner shall reconfirm with the individual whether such a 23 monthly periodic payment is being paid in order to ensure 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4540 IH the proper application of paragraph (7) and this para- 1 graph. 2 ‘‘(D) Upon the death of an individual whose primary 3 insurance amount is computed or recomputed under this 4 paragraph, such primary insurance amount shall be com- 5 puted or recomputed under paragraph (1) of this sub- 6 section. 7 ‘‘(E) In the case of any individual whose primary in- 8 surance amount would be computed under this paragraph 9 who first becomes entitled after 1985 to a monthly peri- 10 odic payment made by a foreign employer or foreign coun- 11 try that is based in whole or in part upon noncovered serv- 12 ice, the primary insurance amount of such individual shall 13 be computed or recomputed under paragraph (7) or para- 14 graph (1), as applicable, for months beginning with the 15 first month of the individual’s initial entitlement to such 16 monthly periodic payment.’’. 17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 18 215(a)(7)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)(7)(A)) is 19 amended— 20 (1) by striking ‘‘hereafter in this paragraph and 21 in subsection (d)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘in this para- 22 graph, paragraph (8), and subsection (d)(3)’’; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4540 IH (2) by striking ‘‘shall be computed or recom- 1 puted’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, subject to paragraph 2 (8), be computed or recomputed’’. 3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 4 this section shall apply with respect to monthly insurance 5 benefits payable on or after January 1, 2022. 6 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL MONTHLY PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN IN- 7 DIVIDUALS WHOSE BENEFIT AMOUNT IS RE- 8 DUCED BY THE WINDFALL ELIMINATION 9 PROVISION. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(a) of such Act (42 11 U.S.C. 415(a)), as amended by section 2(a), is further 12 amended by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(9)(A) For any month beginning at least 270 days 14 after the date of the enactment of the Public Servants 15 Protection and Fairness Act, the Commissioner of Social 16 Security shall, subject to subparagraphs (D) and (E), 17 make an additional monthly payment to each individual 18 who is an eligible individual for such month, in an amount 19 equal to the amount determined under subparagraph (C) 20 with respect to such eligible individual. 21 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘eligi- 22 ble individual’ for a month means an individual (other 23 than an individual described in paragraph (8)(E)) who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4540 IH ‘‘(i) first becomes eligible for an old-age or dis- 1 ability insurance benefit under this title before 2022; 2 and 3 ‘‘(ii) is entitled to an old-age or disability insur- 4 ance benefit under this title for such month based 5 on a primary insurance amount that was computed 6 or recomputed under paragraph (7) (and not subse- 7 quently recomputed under any other paragraph of 8 this subsection). 9 For purposes of clause (i), an individual shall be deemed 10 eligible for a benefit for a month if, upon filing application 11 therefor in such month, the individual would be entitled 12 to such benefit for such month. 13 ‘‘(C)(i) The amount determined under this paragraph 14 with respect to an eligible individual is $150, except that 15 in any case in which the amount by which the primary 16 insurance amount of such eligible individual that would 17 be computed for the individual’s initial computation month 18 under paragraph (1) of this subsection without regard to 19 paragraph (7) exceeds the amount of such primary insur- 20 ance amount computed or recomputed for such month 21 under paragraph (7) is less than $150, the amount deter- 22 mined under this paragraph shall equal the amount of 23 such excess. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4540 IH ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 1 ‘initial computation month’ means, with respect to an indi- 2 vidual, the later of— 3 ‘‘(I) the 1st month beginning at least 270 days 4 after the date of the enactment of the Public Serv- 5 ants Protection and Fairness Act; or 6 ‘‘(II) the 1st month for which the individual’s 7 primary insurance amount is computed or recom- 8 puted under paragraph (7). 9 ‘‘(D) In any case in which this title provides that no 10 monthly benefit under section 202 or 223 shall be paid 11 to an individual for a month, no additional monthly pay- 12 ment shall be paid to the individual for such month. This 13 subparagraph shall not apply in the case of an individual 14 whose monthly benefit under section 202 or 223 is re- 15 duced, regardless of the amount of the reduction, based 16 on— 17 ‘‘(i) the individual’s receipt of other income or 18 benefits for such month; or 19 ‘‘(ii) the adjustment or recovery of an overpay- 20 ment under section 204. 21 ‘‘(E) Except for purposes of adjustment or recovery 22 of an overpayment under section 204, an additional 23 monthly payment under this paragraph shall not be sub- 24 ject to any reduction or deduction under this title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4540 IH ‘‘(F) Whenever benefit amounts under this title are 1 increased by any percentage effective with any month as 2 a result of a determination made under subsection (i), 3 each additional monthly payment amount payable to an 4 eligible individual under this paragraph shall be increased 5 by the same percentage for months beginning with such 6 month. 7 ‘‘(G) The amount of any additional monthly payment 8 under this paragraph shall be disregarded for purposes of 9 determining the eligibility or benefit amount of an indi- 10 vidual for supplemental security income benefits payable 11 under title XVI of the Social Security Act, but only if such 12 individual— 13 ‘‘(i) is eligible for a cash benefit payable under 14 section 1611, section 1619(a), or section 1631(a)(7) 15 for the 1st month beginning at least 270 days after 16 the date of the enactment of the Public Servants 17 Protection and Fairness Act; 18 ‘‘(ii) is an individual described in section 19 1619(b) for such month; or 20 ‘‘(iii) is eligible for a State supplementary pay- 21 ment for such month of the type referred to in sec- 22 tion 1616(a) (or payments of the type described in 23 section 212(a) of Public Law 93–66) which are paid 24 by the Commissioner under an agreement referred to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4540.IH H4540 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4540 IH in section 1616(a) (or section 212(a) of Public Law 1 93–66).’’. 2 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 3 this section shall apply with respect to monthly insurance 4 benefits payable for months beginning at least 270 days 5 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 6 SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT 7 STATEMENTS FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1143(a) of the Social Se- 9 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–13(a)) is amended— 10 (1) in paragraph (2)— 11 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 12 through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F); 13 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 14 the following: 15 ‘‘(B) the amount of earnings derived by 16 the eligible individual from service performed 17 after 1977 which did not constitute employment 18 (as defined in section 210), not including serv- 19 ice as a member of a uniformed service (as de- 20 fined in section 210(m)), as shown by the 21 records of the Commissioner at the date of the 22 request;’’; and 23 (C) in subparagraph (E) (as redesignated 24 by subparagraph (A)), by inserting ‘‘(in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 20 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]