Title: Social Security Equity Act of 2019
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Social Security Equity Act of 2019
This bill expands the exception to the windfall elimination provision (WEP) of the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. (The WEP reduces OASDI benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment.)
Specifically, the bill (1) lowers the required number of years of coverage required to be exempt from the WEP from 30 to 25 years, (2) changes how partial exemptions are calculated for individuals who have more than 20 but less than 25 years of coverage, and (3) reduces the dollar amount an individual must earn to qualify for a year of coverage.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5529 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5529

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to expand the exception to 
     the windfall elimination provision based on years of coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2019

   Mr. Smith of Washington 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 expand the exception to 
     the windfall elimination provision based on years of coverage.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Equity Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF THE EXCEPTION TO THE WINDFALL ELIMINATION 
              PROVISION BASED ON YEARS OF COVERAGE.

    (a) Reduction in the Number of Years of Coverage Required.--
            (1) In general.--Section 215(a)(7)(D) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)(7)(D)) is amended by striking 
        ``30'' each place it appears and inserting ``25''.
            (2) Partial exemptions.--Section 215(a)(7)(D) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)(7)(D)) is further amended by 
        striking the table and inserting the following:

If the number of such                                    The applicable
  individual's years of coverage                            percent is:
  (as so defined) is:
        24.....................................................     80 
        23.....................................................     70 
        22.....................................................     60 
        21.....................................................     50.

    (b) Reduction of the Dollar Amount Required To Constitute a Year of 
Coverage.--Section 215(a)(7)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
415(a)(7)(D)) is amended by striking ``the reference to `15 percent' 
therein shall be deemed to be a reference to `25 percent''' and 
inserting ``each of the references to `25 percent' and the reference to 
`15 percent' therein shall each be deemed to be a reference to `12.5 
percent'''.
    (c) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall 
        apply with respect to monthly insurance benefits payable for 
        any month beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Recomputation of primary insurance amounts.--
        Notwithstanding section 215(f) of the Social Security Act, the 
        Commissioner of Social Security shall recompute primary 
        insurance amounts originally computed for months prior to the 
        date of the enactment of this Act to the extent necessary to 
        carry out the amendment made by this section.
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