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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	January 4, 2017 04:06 PM
From:	Senator John R. Gordner
To:	All Senate members
Subject:	Proposed Legislation Clarifying Eligibility for Property Tax or Rent Rebates for Annuitants of the federal Civil Service Retirement System

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation which clarifies that 50% of a payment in-lieu of Social Security benefits for annuitants of the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) is not to be considered “income” when determining eligibility for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program. The CSRS was established in 1920 and was replaced by the Federal Employees Retirement System in 1987. Federal employees paying into CSRS were not required to pay Social Security taxes, and therefore, do not receive Social Security retirement benefits. CSRS was designed to provide a pension for federal employees and a payment in-lieu of Social Security retirement benefits. It has come to my attention that while 50% of Social Security benefits are not considered “income” when determining eligibility for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program, 100% of CSRS pension benefits are considered to be income. This has resulted in some annuitants of CSRS being ineligible for a property tax or rent rebate because part of their pension payment is a payment in-lieu of Social Security retirement benefits. This legislation will clarify that 50% of the portion of a CSRS annuitant’s pension benefit that is a payment in-lieu of Social Security retirement benefits will not be considered “income” when determining eligibility for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program. This legislation was introduced as Senate Bill 641 in the 2015-2016 Legislative Session. Cosponsors of Senate Bill 641 were Sens. Browne, Mensch, Costa, Hughes, Vulakovich, Ward, Rafferty, Yudichak, Boscola and Fontana. Thank you for your consideration and please contact my office if you have any questions regarding this proposed legislation.

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