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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 519

To amend the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount

of outside income which a Social Security beneficiary may earn while

receiving benefits.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

Mr. GILMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend the Social Security Act to remove the limitation

on the amount of outside income which a Social Security

beneficiary may earn while receiving benefits.

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

3 SECTION 1. REMOVAL OF LIMITATION UPON THE AMOUNT

4 OF OUTSIDE INCOME WHICH A SOCIAL SECU5 RITY BENEFICIARY MAY EARN WHILE RE6 CEIVING BENEFITS.

7 (a) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO DEDUC8 TIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (c)(1), (d),

2 (f), (h), (j), and (k) of section 203 of the Social Se3 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 403) are repealed.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 203

5 of such Act (as amended by subsection (a)) is fur6 ther amended—

7 (A) in subsection (c), by redesignating

8 such subsection as subsection (b), and—

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Noncovered Work

10 Outside the United States or’’ in the head11 ing;

12 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2),

13 (3), and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and

14 (3), respectively;

15 (iii) by striking ‘‘For purposes of

16 paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘For purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and

18 (3)’’; and

19 (iv) by striking the last sentence;

20 (B) in subsection (e), by redesignating

21 such subsection as subsection (c), and by strik22 ing ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘subsection (b)’’;

24 (C) in subsection (g), by redesignating

25 such subsection as subsection (d), and by strik-
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1 ing ‘‘subsection (c)’’ each place it appears and

2 inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and

3 (D) in subsection (l), by redesignating such

4 subsection as subsection (e), and by striking

5 ‘‘subsection (g) or (h)(1)(A)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘subsection (d)’’.

7 (b) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS TER9 MINATED UPON DEPORTATION.—Section 202(n)(1)

10 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(n)(1)) is

11 amended by striking ‘‘Section 203 (b), (c), and (d)’’

12 and inserting ‘‘Section 203(b)’’.

13 (2) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS

14 FROM REDUCTIONS BASED ON EARLY RETIRE15 MENT.—

16 (A) Section 202(q)(5)(B) of such Act (42

17 U.S.C. 402(q)(5)(B)) is amended by striking

18 ‘‘section 203(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section

19 203(b)(1)’’.

20 (B) Section 202(q)(7)(A) of such Act (42

21 U.S.C. 402(q)(7)(A)) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘deductions under section 203(b), 203(c)(1),

23 203(d)(1), or 222(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘deduc24 tions on account of work under section 203 or

25 deductions under section 222(b)’’.
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1 (3) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS

2 FROM REDUCTIONS BASED ON DISREGARD OF CER3 TAIN ENTITLEMENTS TO CHILD’S INSURANCE BENE4 FITS.—

5 (A) Section 202(s)(1) of such Act (42

6 U.S.C. 402(s)(1)) is amended by striking

7 ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 203(c)’’

8 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of

9 section 203(b)’’.

10 (B) Section 202(s)(3) of such Act (42

11 U.S.C. 402(s)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘The

12 last sentence of subsection (c) of section 203,

13 subsection (f)(1)(C) of section 203, and sub14 sections’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsections’’.

15 (4) PROVISIONS RELATING TO SUSPENSION OF

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

17 (42 U.S.C. 402(t)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘Sub18 sections (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection

19 (b)’’.

20 (5) PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS IN21 CREASED ON ACCOUNT OF DELAYED RETIRE22 MENT.—Section 202(w)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (42

23 U.S.C. 402(w)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘or

24 203(c)’’.
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1 (6) PROVISIONS RELATING TO REDUCTIONS IN

2 BENEFITS BASED ON MAXIMUM BENEFITS.—Section

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

4 403(a)(3)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘and sub5 sections (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘and sub6 section (b)’’.

7 (7) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR

8 MISREPRESENTATIONS CONCERNING EARNINGS FOR

9 PERIODS SUBJECT TO DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF

10 WORK.—Section 208(a)(1)(C) of such Act (42

11 U.S.C. 408(a)(1)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘under

12 section 203(f) of this title for purposes of deductions

13 from benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 203 for

14 purposes of deductions from benefits on account of

15 work’’.

16 (8) PROVISIONS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EARN17 INGS IN DETERMINING BENEFIT COMPUTATION

18 YEARS.—Clause (I) in the next to last sentence of

19 section 215(b)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

20 415(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘no earnings

21 as described in section 203(f)(5) in such year’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘no wages, and no net earnings from self23 employment (in excess of net loss from self-employ24 ment), in such year’’.
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1 (9) PROVISIONS RELATING TO ROUNDING OF

2 BENEFITS.—Section 215(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

3 415(g)) is amended by striking ‘‘and any deduction

4 under section 203(b)’’.

5 (10) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EARNINGS

6 TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DETERMINING SUBSTAN7 TIAL GAINFUL ACTIVITY OF BLIND INDIVIDUALS.—

8 The second sentence of section 223(d)(4) of such

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4)) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘if section 102 of the Senior Citizens’ Right to

11 Work Act of 1996 had not been enacted’’ and insert12 ing the following: ‘‘if the amendments to section 203

13 made by section 102 of the Senior Citizens’ Right to

14 Work Act of 1996 and by section 5 of the ll Act

15 of 1999 had not been enacted’’.

16 (11) PROVISIONS DEFINING INCOME FOR PUR17 POSES OF SSI.—Section 1612(a) of such Act (42

18 U.S.C. 1382a(a)) is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘as determined under sec20 tion 203(f)(5)(C)’’ in paragraph (1)(A) and in21 serting ‘‘as defined in the last two sentences of

22 this subsection’’; and

23 (B) by adding at the end (after and below

24 paragraph (2)(F)) the following new sentences:
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1 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term ‘wages’

2 means wages as defined in section 209, but computed

3 without regard to the limitations as to amounts of remu4 neration specified in paragraphs (1), (6)(B), (6)(C),

5 (7)(B), and (8) of section 209(a). In making the computa6 tion under the preceding sentence, (A) services which do

7 not constitute employment as defined in section 210, per8 formed within the United States by an individual as an

9 employee or performed outside the United States in the

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

11 be deemed to be employment as so defined if the remu12 neration for such services is not includible in computing

13 the individual’s net earnings or net loss from self-employ14 ment for purposes of title II, and (B) the term ‘wages’

15 shall be deemed not to include (i) the amount of any pay16 ment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or any of his

17 or her dependents (including any amount paid by an em18 ployer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to pro19 vide for any such payment) on account of retirement, or

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

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

22 after the termination of the employee’s employment rela23 tionship because of retirement after attaining an age spec24 ified in a plan referred to in section 209(m)(2) or in a

25 pension plan of the employer.’’.
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1 (12) REPEAL OF DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF

2 WORK UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT PRO3 GRAM.—Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of

4 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231a) is amended by striking sub5 sections (f) and (g)(2).

6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments and re7 peals made by this section shall apply with respect to tax8 able years beginning after December 31, 1999.

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