Social Security Expansion Act
Social Security Expansion Act
Plain Language Summary
# Social Security Expansion Act Summary **What the Bill Would Do** The Social Security Expansion Act would increase benefits for Social Security recipients and expand the program's funding. Specifically, it would boost payments for lower-income earners by adjusting how benefits are calculated, create a new minimum benefit floor for low-wage workers, and improve cost-of-living adjustments to better reflect the spending patterns of seniors over 62. The bill would also allow full-time students whose parents are deceased or disabled to receive benefits for longer. **Funding and Who It Affects** To pay for these expansions, the bill would increase Social Security payroll taxes on higher earners.
The changes would benefit current and future retirees, disabled workers, and surviving family members of deceased workers—particularly those with lower lifetime earnings. Self-employed individuals and certain railroad and transportation employees would also be affected by tax changes. **Current Status** The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by the full House of Representatives. As a Democratic proposal, it reflects one approach to addressing Social Security's long-term financing challenges, though expanding benefits and raising payroll taxes remain debated policy questions.
CRS Official Summary
Social Security Expansion ActThis bill increases Social Security benefits, expands Social Security payroll taxes, and makes other changes to the Social Security program.Specifically, the bill changes the way Social Security benefits are calculated by increasing the primary insurance amount applicable to average monthly earnings that fall below a specified amount, and increasing bend points for individuals who become eligible for Social Security after 2025. (Bend points are dollar amounts at which earnings are segmented for the purpose of calculating an individual’s primary insurance amount. The share of an individual’s earnings that are replaced by Social Security decreases at each escalating bend point.)The bill also revises the method of calculating cost-of-living adjustments to account for the spending of individuals over the age of 62 and establishes a new minimum benefit for certain low earners. Further, the bill permits full-time students who are the children of deceased or disabled workers to collect Social Security or railroad retirement child’s benefits until they reach age 22.With respect to taxes, the bill extends payroll taxes on wages, salaries, and self-employment earnings to income above $250,000. (In 2025, the maximum amount subject to Social Security payroll tax is $176,100.) The bill also increases the net investment income tax and subjects active trade or business income to this tax.Finally, the bill combines the existing Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund into a single Social Security Trust Fund.
Latest Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.