Social Security Revision Could Help Trucking
Older truckers earning Social Security may want to drive more each year because of a change in the law that will let them earn more outside income each year, and that could spell relief for some parts of the trucking industry.
Much of trucking’s focus has been on training younger people to fill an estimated 80,000 job openings each year. The Truckload Carriers Association, in conjunction with the National Private Truck Council, has recommended pilot programs that would allow rigorously trained 18- to 20-year-olds the opportunity to drive in interstate commerce ("Younger-Driver Push Loses Some Steam," 3-27, p. 3).
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The government has eliminated restrictions on earnings for Social Security recipients who are 65 to 69 years old. As a result, “I’ll bet you could find quite a few drivers who will be able to stay on the job,” said Rita Bonz, president of the Independent Truckers and Drivers Association in Baltimore.
The Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act of 2000, signed into law by President Clinton on April 7, eliminates the retirement earnings test as of Dec. 31, 1999. Previously, beneficiaries lost $1 in benefits for each $3 earned over $17,000 a year.
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