Good Morning. I thank the Chairmen for holding this hearing. I also thank each witness for being here today.
Every working American should have basic retirement coverage. This can be provided through Social Security or through a state’s retirement system for public-sector employees. These benefits help ensure that Americans maintain a basic standard of living during their retirement.
Ninety-four percent of American workers receive their basic retirement coverage through Social Security. However, about six million state and local government employees do not. These workers participate in their state’s retirement system and generally include teachers, firefighters, and police officers. In my home state of Georgia, more than 180,000 state and local employees are not covered by Social Security.
State and local governments often have their own retirement systems. However, these governments have the option to enter into voluntary agreements with the Social Security Administration to have their employees covered by Social Security. If a local government decides to provide coverage through Social Security, its employees must pay federal payroll taxes just like every other American worker.
Today’s hearing will look at how federal and state agencies work together to provide Social Security coverage to state and local government employees and ensure compliance with payroll tax requirements. We will learn more about how the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and State Administrators work together to ensure governments comply with payroll tax requirements.
I look forward to receiving recommendations from our witnesses on how to improve compliance. Again, thank you for being here today.
