I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 47

To amend title II of the Social Security Act so as to remove the limitation

upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while

receiving benefits thereunder.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 6, 1999

Mr. STUMP 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 so as to remove

the limitation upon the amount of outside income which

an individual may earn while receiving benefits thereunder.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Earn5 ings Test Repeal Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO DEDUC2 TIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (c)(1), (d), (f),

4 (h), (j), and (k) of section 203 of the Social Security Act

5 (42 U.S.C. 403) are repealed.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 203 of

7 such Act (as amended by subsection (a)) is further

8 amended—

9 (1) in subsection (c), by redesignating such sub10 section as subsection (b), and—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘Noncovered Work Outside

12 the United States or’’ in the heading;

13 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3),

14 and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respec15 tively;

16 (C) by striking ‘‘For purposes of para17 graphs (2), (3), and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘For

18 purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)’’; and

19 (D) by striking the last sentence;

20 (2) in subsection (e), by redesignating such sub21 section as subsection (c), and by striking ‘‘sub22 sections (c) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’;

23 (3) in subsection (g), by redesignating such

24 subsection as subsection (d), and by striking ‘‘sub25 section (c)’’ each place it appears and inserting

26 ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and
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1 (4) in subsection (l), by redesignating such sub2 section as subsection (e), and by striking ‘‘sub3 section (g) or (h)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

4 (d)’’.

5 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

6 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS TERMI7 NATED UPON DEPORTATION.—Section 202(n)(1) of the

8 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(n)(1)) is amended by

9 striking ‘‘Section 203 (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘Section 203(b)’’.

11 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM

12 REDUCTIONS BASED ON EARLY RETIREMENT.—

13 (1) Section 202(q)(5)(B) of such Act (42

14 U.S.C. 402(q)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec15 tion 203(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(b)(1)’’.

16 (2) Section 202(q)(7)(A) of such Act (42

17 U.S.C. 402(q)(7)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘de18 ductions under section 203(b), 203(c)(1), 203(d)(1),

19 or 222(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘deductions on account of

20 work under section 203 or deductions under section

21 222(b)’’.

22 (c) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM

23 REDUCTIONS BASED ON DISREGARD OF CERTAIN ENTI24 TLEMENTS TO CHILD’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—
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1 (1) Section 202(s)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

2 402(s)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2),

3 (3), and (4) of section 203(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘para4 graphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 203(b)’’.

5 (2) Section 202(s)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

6 402(s)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘The last sen7 tence of subsection (c) of section 203, subsection

8 (f)(1)(C) of section 203, and subsections’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Subsections’’.

10 (d) PROVISIONS RELATING TO SUSPENSION OF

11 ALIENS’ BENEFITS.—Section 202(t)(7) of such Act (42

12 U.S.C. 402(t)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘Subsections

13 (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection (b)’’.

14 (e) PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS INCREASED

15 ON ACCOUNT OF DELAYED RETIREMENT.—Section

16 202(w)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)(2)(B)(ii))

17 is amended by striking ‘‘or 203(c)’’.

18 (f) PROVISIONS RELATING TO REDUCTIONS IN BEN19 EFITS BASED ON MAXIMUM BENEFITS.—Section

20 203(a)(3)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

21 403(a)(3)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘and subsections

22 (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘and subsection (b)’’.

23 (g) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR MIS24 REPRESENTATIONS CONCERNING EARNINGS FOR PERI25 ODS SUBJECT TO DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK.—
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1 Section 208(a)(1)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

2 408(a)(1)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘under section

3 203(f) of this title for purposes of deductions from bene4 fits’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 203 for purposes of de5 ductions from benefits on account of work’’.

6 (h) PROVISIONS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EARNINGS

7 IN DETERMINING BENEFIT COMPUTATION YEARS.—

8 Clause (I) in the next to last sentence of section

9 215(b)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(b)(2)(A)) is

10 amended by striking ‘‘no earnings as described in section

11 203(f)(5) in such year’’ and inserting ‘‘no wages, and no

12 net earnings from self-employment (in excess of net loss

13 from self-employment), in such year’’.

14 (i) PROVISIONS RELATING TO ROUNDING OF BENE15 FITS.—Section 215(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(g)) is

16 amended by striking ‘‘and any deduction under section

17 203(b)’’.

18 (j) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EARNINGS TAKEN

19 INTO ACCOUNT IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL GAINFUL

20 ACTIVITY OF BLIND INDIVIDUALS.—The second sentence

21 of section 223(d)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4))

22 is amended by striking ‘‘if section 102 of the Senior Citi23 zens’ Right to Work Act of 1996 had not been enacted’’

24 and inserting the following: ‘‘if the amendments to section

25 203 made by section 102 of the Senior Citizens’ Right
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1 to Work Act of 1996 and by the Social Security Earnings

2 Test Repeal Act of 1999 had not been enacted’’.

3 (k) PROVISIONS DEFINING INCOME FOR PURPOSES

4 OF SSI.—Section 1612(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

5 1382a(a)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘as determined under section

7 203(f)(5)(C)’’ in paragraph (1)(A) and inserting ‘‘as

8 defined in the last two sentences of this subsection’’;

9 and

10 (2) by adding at the end (after and below para11 graph (2)(F)) the following new sentences:

12 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term ‘wages’

13 means wages as defined in section 209, but computed

14 without regard to the limitations as to amounts of remu15 neration specified in paragraphs (1), (6)(B), (6)(C),

16 (7)(B), and (8) of section 209(a). In making the computa17 tion under the preceding sentence, (A) services which do

18 not constitute employment as defined in section 210, per19 formed within the United States by an individual as an

20 employee or performed outside the United States in the

21 active military or naval services of the United States, shall

22 be deemed to be employment as so defined if the remu23 neration for such services is not includible in computing

24 the individual’s net earnings or net loss from self-employ25 ment for purposes of title II, and (B) the term ‘wages’
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1 shall be deemed not to include (i) the amount of any pay2 ment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or any of his

3 or her dependents (including any amount paid by an em4 ployer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to pro5 vide for any such payment) on account of retirement, or

6 (ii) any payment or series of payments by an employer

7 to an employee or any of his or her dependents upon or

8 after the termination of the employee’s employment rela9 tionship because of retirement after attaining an age spec10 ified in a plan referred to in section 209(m)(2) or in a

11 pension plan of the employer.’’.

12 (l) REPEAL OF DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK

13 UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT PROGRAM.—Section

14 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C.

15 231a) is amended by striking subsections (f) and (g)(2).

16 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

17 The amendments and repeals made by this Act shall

18 apply with respect to taxable years ending on or after the

19 date of the enactment of this Act.

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