Millions of Americans depend on Social Security for their income because so many people can no longer rely on the traditional employer-sponsored pension. Millions more are currently contributing to the program through their paychecks. As Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, Richie has worked to strengthen and enhance social security for all Americans.
Richie has used his Chairmanship to highlight the importance of Social Security, and has worked to protect and improve the program by:
- Co-sponsoring legislation and holding hearings on increasing benefit amounts for beneficiaries.
- Writing the bill to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision for over 73,000 Massachusetts residents. His bill, the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act, will provide monthly payments to current WEP retirees, and ensures no benefits are cut to current and future retirees.
- Supporting legislation to reform the Social Security payee program, ensuring robust oversight of a program that is critical to protecting the most vulnerable.
- Protecting Social Security benefits for our veterans, who have sacrificed for our country, because more veterans currently receive benefits from Social Security than Veterans disability or pension benefits.
The American retirement system has been successful in helping many prepare for retirement, especially those who work for large employers and the government, but nearly half of American private sector employees work for an employer that does not offer a retirement plan. Richie believes we need to do more to ensure that every American has an opportunity to save and prepare for a financially secure retirement.
“Every American deserves to be financially secure in retirement. One of my long-time priorities in Congress is to help Americans meet that goal.”
Richie has been a long-time champion of reforms to help Americans prepare for financial security in retirement, including:
- Passing the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), which became the biggest expansion of retirement saving opportunities for middle class Americans in decades.
- Passing the Butch Lewis Act, to rehabilitate multi-employer pensions and protect the 1.3 million workers and retirees in multi-employer plans.
- Proposing enhancements to the Saver’s Credit, to ensure that all middle-class families are provided with an incentive to save.
- Fighting to make it easier for part-time workers to save by ensuring that long-term, part-time workers can participate in their employer’s 401(k) plan.
- Encouraging employers to offer lifetime income options in defined contribution retirement plans, making it easier for workers to manage their assets in retirement.
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