House approves changes for senior citizens

Senior citizens collecting Social Security will also be able to collect at least a portion of unemployment benefits.

HB8, which passed the House Monday 56-18, would change unemployment insurance rules to require that only 50 percent of the amount a person collects from their Social Security benefits be deducted from their unemployment benefits. Currently, the amount of Social Security a person collects is taken out of their unemployment check.

Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said that she would have preferred to see people able to collect the full amount of both benefits, since often times a senior citizen cannot live on their Social Security payments.

"This is discrimination against our senior citizens, against our elderly," she said. "I think we should give them 100 percent, but the 50 percent is a good compromise."