Thomas Daschle: “the time is right to repeal the Social Security earnings test. I ask my colleagues to join with me today in support of…”

“the time is right to repeal the Social Security earnings test. I ask my colleagues to join with me today in support of the passage of H.R. 5, the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1999. We all know that reaching retirement age does not necessarily mean a person is ready to retire. It is good news that Americans are now living longer and healthier lives, and I believe that the Social Security system should not penalize those who want to work longer. I understand that many older workers choose to remain in the workforce because they need additional income or have no desire to stop working. I fully support this choice, and I believe that no one should face financial penalties for that personal decision. In South Dakota this year, 2000 people have seen their Social Security benefits reduced because they chose to continue working when they reached the age of 65. All told, Social Security withheld about $8 million in Social Security payments last year from those South Dakotans. That works out to a loss of about $4000 in Social Security benefits for each of those 2000 South Dakotans. That is not right. Let's not penalize them for staying in the work force to achieve a better standard of living.”