Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act

Key Points

• This bill helps retired health care workers and first responders who went back to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, if you take Social Security early and keep working, the government reduces your benefit payments if you earn more than a certain amount of money.
• The plan would stop the government from counting money earned between January 2020 and May 2023 against Social Security limits. This means these workers would get to keep their full retirement checks even if they worked many hours during the national crisis.
• It also sets up a rule for the future. If there is another health emergency and a shortage of workers, the government can waive these rules again. This allows retired professionals to help out during emergencies without being penalized for their extra income.
• To qualify, workers must show proof that they were employed as medical professionals or first responders during the emergency. The Social Security Administration would be responsible for creating the process for people to apply for these waivers.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.