[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3659 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3659
To exempt premium pay received by semi-retired workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic from the Social Security retirement earnings test.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 16, 2022
Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. Casey)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To exempt premium pay received by semi-retired workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic from the Social Security retirement earnings test.
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 ``Supporting Essential Workers in
Retirement Act''.
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF PREMIUM PAY RECEIVED BY WORKERS DURING THE COVID-
19 PANDEMIC FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT EARNINGS
TEST.
(a) In General.--For purposes of subsection (b) of section 203 of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 403), the amount of any additional
earnings received by an individual that is attributable to the
individual's receipt of premium pay shall not be included in the
determination of the individual's excess earnings under subsection
(f)(3) of such section for any taxable year.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) COVID-19 emergency period.--The term ``COVID-19
emergency period'' means the period that begins on March 13,
2020, and ends on December 31, 2021.
(2) Essential work.--The term ``essential work'' means any
work that--
(A) is performed during the COVID-19 emergency
period; and
(B) is needed to maintain continuity of operations
of essential critical infrastructure sectors and
additional sectors as each Governor of a State or
territory, or each Tribal government, may have
designated as critical to protect the health and well-
being of the residents of their State, territory, or
Tribal government pursuant to section 602(g)(2) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 802(g)(2)).
(3) Premium pay.--The term ``premium pay'' means--
(A) a higher rate of pay to workers, beyond normal
compensation, for performing essential work during the
COVID-19 emergency period; or
(B) compensation paid to a worker for hours of
essential work performed in addition to the worker's
normal work schedule that results in the worker
receiving a higher average weekly compensation compared
to the average weekly compensation received by the
worker for work performed in the same position for the
same employer during the period that begins on January
1, 2020, and ends on March 13, 2020, or, if less, the
average weekly compensation received by the worker for
work performed in the same position for the same
employer during any portion of such period that is not
less than 14 consecutive days.
(c) Employer Verification.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security
shall issue guidance providing for the verification by
employers of record for employees who performed essential work
during the COVID-19 emergency period of premium pay disbursed
to such employees using Form SSA-131, Employer Report of
Special Payments.
(2) Notice to employees.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of issuance of such guidance, employers shall inform
employees who performed essential work during the COVID-19
emergency period of their eligibility to elect to have their
premium pay excluded in the determination of the individual's
excess earnings under section 203(f)(3) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 403(f)(3)) for any taxable year.
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