Social Security 2100 Act

Key Points

• This bill would give most people on Social Security a raise by raising the basic benefit formula from 90 percent to 93 percent, and it changes how yearly cost-of-living increases are figured out. Seniors would get whichever inflation measure is higher, including a new index (CPI-E) built around what people over 62 actually spend, like healthcare.
• To pay for the changes, the bill asks the wealthiest Americans to pay more. It removes the cap so people earning over $400,000 keep paying Social Security payroll taxes, and it adds a new 12.4 percent Social Security tax on investment income for high earners.
• The plan helps people who take time off work to care for children or sick relatives by giving them caregiver credits toward future benefits. It also lets children of retired, disabled, or deceased workers keep getting benefits until age 26 if they are still in school, up from the current limit.
• The bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period before disability benefits start and replaces the sudden loss of benefits for disabled people who work with a gradual $1-for-$2 reduction, so they can try working without falling off a cliff.
• The Social Security Administration would have to keep staffing at 2025 levels, stop closing field offices, protect beneficiary data from political appointees, and limit how much it can claw back from your check if it overpaid you to 10 percent per month.
• Most of the benefit boosts are temporary and set to expire after 2036 unless Congress renews them, while the tax changes are permanent.