NAPO URGES CONGRESS TO CONSIDER THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF POLICE WHEN FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY HOLDS HEARING EXAMINING THE IMPLICATIONS OF PROPOSALS AFFECTING FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) urged the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security, to consider the special needs of law enforcement officers and other government employees when examining the future of Social Security.

In a written statement submitted to the Subcommittee for their ninth hearing in a series entitled, “The Future of Social Security for this Generation and the Next”, Robert T. Scully, executive director of NAPO, addressed the severe implications of mandating Social Security taxes on law enforcement officers and other government employees.  It is estimated that 76 percent of police officers and firefighters do not currently pay Social Security taxes.

Dating back to the original Social Security Act of 1935, State and local governments were excluded altogether to avoid raising the possible constitutional questions of whether the Federal government could tax State and local governments.  Also, many State and local governments were already covered under other pension plans.  Voluntary participation in Social Security by employees of State and local governments has been permitted since 1950 due to several congressional amendments to the law.  The State and local government option to terminate Social Security coverage was repealed and all State and local participating governments were required to continue their participation in 1983.  Then, on July 1, 1991, Social Security coverage was made mandatory for State and local government workers who do not participate in a retirement system for such employment.

“[Mandating Social Security taxes] would have a dramatic and negative impact on the recruitment and retention of well-qualified public safety officers and their current pension funds.  Even mandating that only new hires be included in the system would still have serious unintended and possibly devastating consequences.  Such a Federal mandate would strain State and local government budgets and would probably reduce current salaries, freeze future pay raises, and curtail or eliminate other benefits, such as retiree health insurance, retirement pensions, death benefits, and line-of-duty disability pay for public safety officers,” said Scully.

“Simply stated, the Social Security system was not designed for police officers and firefighters.  …State and local governments have developed pension systems which acknowledge that police and firefighter jobs are very different than normal careers, with a set of dangers and stresses not faced by most other professionals,” continued Scully.

The Social Security system does not adequately provide for police officers who retire from police work, typically around middle age, because of the physical and psychological stresses and demands of their job.  Because Social Security requires that an employee be unable to perform any substantial and gainful employment, officers who are no longer able to perform their police duties receive nothing under Social Security.  However, most of the current systems allow such officers to receive some disability benefits, which are often used to supplement a second career (usually at a lower salary).

“A Social Security tax on employees and their government employers would negatively impact public safety operations and could result in lay-offs, reduced pay or other benefits, or no cost-of living increases, and could reduce purchases of necessary equipment and technology, or a combination of these consequences,” stated Scully.  “Mandatory Social Security taxes and coverage will hurt, not help, 76% percent of the public safety officers not now included, in addition to millions of other public sector employees.  It will hurt us all,” continued Scully.

The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States that serves in Washington, DC to advance the interests of America’s law enforcement officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.  Founded in 1978, NAPO now represents more than 4,000 police unions and associations, 250,000 sworn law enforcement officers, 3,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.