In April 2000, after a show of overwhelming congressional support, President Clinton signed into law the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act. This law amends the Social Security Act to eliminate the earnings test for individuals who have reached the age of 65 and allows them to continue working without unfair punishment.

Before this bill became law, some of America’s best and brightest workers were being treated unfairly by the Social Security structure. Their wages were being tapped by the federal government at an extremely high rate because they were aged 65 or older and receiving Social Security benefits. Here’s how it used to work: Seniors aged 65-69 could earn up to $17,000 a year while receiving full benefits. But for every additional three dollars earned beyond that limit, the government reduced their benefits by one dollar – benefits they spent a lifetime earning. This essentially piled another 33 percent tax on senior’s earned income, in addition to what they already paid for income, Social Security, state, and local taxes.

The practice began with the creation of Social Security back in the 1930s, when there were fifty workers paying into the system for every one Social Security beneficiary, and older workers were encouraged to step aside and make way for younger, unemployed workers. The demographics of the American work force have shifted dramatically to create a long-term need for these skilled older workers.

Eliminating the earnings limit for working seniors seems to be only common sense. However, this reform has been a long time in coming and has encountered numerous struggles along the way. Previously, I have participated in several legislative attempts to fix this unequal treatment, but they were all defeated. The bill I co-sponsored this year is the latest in a series of bills that would eliminate an economic disincentive to work. The difference is that finally we won over President Clinton and he agreed to sign it into law.

With the passage of this law, instead of penalizing senior workers, the Social Security system now sends seniors the message, "We value you, we need you, we will treat you fairly."