Sen. Duson introduces bill to ensure equity and bring justice to retired Maine workers with disabilities
Bill mirrors recent federal action to bolster retirement benefits via the Social Security Fairness Act
AUGUSTA – On April 22, 2025, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jill C. Duson, D-Portland, introduced a bill to restore full benefits to retired Maine workers who have disabilities. LD 1638, “An Act Regarding Disability Retirement Benefits Under the Maine Public Employees Retirement System,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Committee on Labor.
“This bill is about righting a wrong and ensuring equity and justice for our state’s retired workers with disabilities who have worked hard and paid into their own retirement,” said Sen. Duson. “I am grateful to Ms. Susan Hawes, my constituent from Portland, for her continued advocacy on this issue and for working to help secure bipartisan cosponsors for this bill. Throughout my career in public service, I’ve fought for justice and accountability, and LD 1638 continues that mission by ensuring our seniors and their retirement contributions are respected and valued in full.”
In 1991, the Maine Legislature created the MainePERS Social Security disability offset as part of a large Worker’s Compensation reform bill. This offset reduced benefits to well below the defined disability benefit amount of 59% of Annual Final Compensation for a small group of MainePERS disabled retirees: those who worked in Social Security-covered public service jobs and fully paid into both Social Security and MainePERS.
“These [retired] public employees deserve the financial security insurance they and their employers, the taxpayers, paid for and they earned through work and who unfortunately now need their wages replaced due to disability,” said Susan Hawes of Portland in testimony to the committee. “Already suffering from life-altering medical conditions, these 51 disabled retirees deserve fairness and to be made whole by releasing their withheld disability benefits.”
Passage of LD 1638 would repeal the MainePERS Social Security offset and return unfairly withheld benefits to retired Maine workers. These retirees are currently being denied the full 59% MainePERS disability benefit that they and their employers paid for through MainePERS’s Contributions Rates. Disabled retirees, vulnerable retirees and their families experience detrimental long-term consequences from the reduction in MainePERS disability benefits. These impacts transcend party lines, as evidenced by the slate of legislators who cosponsored the bill.
“While the issues with the Maine law are quite complicated and only impact a small group of Maine residents, they are, nevertheless, resulting in economic hardship for seniors who served faithfully in public sector positions,” said James Durking, Legislative Director for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in written testimony to the committee. “Moreover, like those who were harmed by the WEP and GPO, it appears as though this small group of retirees are being harmed, simply because they receive benefits from a public pension system.”
LD 1638 faces further action in the Labor Committee.
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