Those in such programs could modify their contributions such that their total payroll deduction for retirement and Social Security remained unchanged. This allowed them to join Social Security without incurring additional financial obligations. But federal judges' pension system was not among such programs. As a result, judges' payroll deductions had to increase. A group of federal judges appointed before 1983 said the law violated Article III, section 1 of the Constitution, commonly known as the "compensation clause." The compensation clause guarantees that federal judges' compensation will not be diminished while they are in office. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the compensation clause prevents the government from collecting Social Security taxes from federal judges who held office before Congress extended those taxes to federal employees.
Supreme Court rules judges don’t have to pay Social Security
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