WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Lance Gooden (TX-05) introduced the No Tax on Restored Benefits Act, legislation to ensure public-sector retirees are not subject to an unexpected tax burden on benefits restored by the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA).
Following the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in the SSFA, millions of public servants began receiving long-overdue, retroactive lump-sum Social Security payments. However, these payments are being treated as ordinary taxable income for the 2025 tax year, creating an unexpected, steep tax burden for these retirees.
The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act fixes this by creating a special gross income tax exclusion for retroactive payments associated with the SSFA during 2025, ensuring retirees are not penalized for finally receiving benefits they earned decades ago.
“Our public-sector retirees worked their whole lives to serve and improve our communities. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act guarantees that they keep every dollar of the benefits they have rightfully earned,” said Rep. Gooden.
The bill is cosponsored by Chellie Pingree (ME-01) and has received support from the Texas Retired Teachers Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Fraternal Order of Police.
“For hundreds of thousands of Americans, the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act was truly transformative, ensuring they received the benefits they deserved. But it was never intended to saddle widows, low-income seniors, and dedicated public servants with an unexpected tax bill. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act addresses this problem in a fair, commonsense way—by protecting people who were previously below the taxation threshold from being unfairly punished because of a one-time, retroactive increase in their earned benefits,” said Rep. Pingree.
“In 2024, Congress proved that it understood the detrimental impact the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) had on public servants’ Social Security retirement benefits when it permanently repealed these harmful provisions as part of the Social Security Fairness Act. Now, these same retirees are facing a large tax bill on those same benefits Congress worked to restore. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act honors Congress’s intent in repealing the GPO and WEP and will ensure no public servant will continue to be penalized simply because they chose public service. We stand with Representative Gooden in support of this important bill and thank him for standing up for our nation’s public safety community,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director, National Association of Police Organizations.
Rep. Gooden cosponsored the Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on January 5, 2025.
The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act was featured in an exclusive article by Fox Business.
Read the bill text here.
Following the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in the SSFA, millions of public servants began receiving long-overdue, retroactive lump-sum Social Security payments. However, these payments are being treated as ordinary taxable income for the 2025 tax year, creating an unexpected, steep tax burden for these retirees.
The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act fixes this by creating a special gross income tax exclusion for retroactive payments associated with the SSFA during 2025, ensuring retirees are not penalized for finally receiving benefits they earned decades ago.
“Our public-sector retirees worked their whole lives to serve and improve our communities. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act guarantees that they keep every dollar of the benefits they have rightfully earned,” said Rep. Gooden.
The bill is cosponsored by Chellie Pingree (ME-01) and has received support from the Texas Retired Teachers Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Fraternal Order of Police.
“For hundreds of thousands of Americans, the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act was truly transformative, ensuring they received the benefits they deserved. But it was never intended to saddle widows, low-income seniors, and dedicated public servants with an unexpected tax bill. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act addresses this problem in a fair, commonsense way—by protecting people who were previously below the taxation threshold from being unfairly punished because of a one-time, retroactive increase in their earned benefits,” said Rep. Pingree.
“In 2024, Congress proved that it understood the detrimental impact the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) had on public servants’ Social Security retirement benefits when it permanently repealed these harmful provisions as part of the Social Security Fairness Act. Now, these same retirees are facing a large tax bill on those same benefits Congress worked to restore. The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act honors Congress’s intent in repealing the GPO and WEP and will ensure no public servant will continue to be penalized simply because they chose public service. We stand with Representative Gooden in support of this important bill and thank him for standing up for our nation’s public safety community,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director, National Association of Police Organizations.
Rep. Gooden cosponsored the Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on January 5, 2025.
The No Tax on Restored Benefits Act was featured in an exclusive article by Fox Business.
Read the bill text here.