We Can't Wait Act of 2026
Sens. Collins and Hassan Introduce the We Can't Wait Act to Provide Early Disability Payments
Legislative Progress
Key Points
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Programs
The bill is designed to be cost-neutral to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund over 75 years, meaning it shouldn't affect benefits for other Social Security recipients. The Chief Actuary must recalculate the reduction percentage every five years to maintain that balance. However, the structure shifts some long-term benefit value from disability recipients who opt in, trading smaller lifetime payments for earlier access.
“the fiscal impact over a 75-year period upon the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund if all individuals who applied pursuant to paragraph (1) to receive disability insurance benefits made an election to receive benefits during their waiting periods is equal to the fiscal impact over such period upon such Trust Fund that would have been made if all individuals who applied had not made such election”
Disabilities
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articlesBipartisan bill led by Collins would allow faster SSDI payments
Senators Susan Collins and Maggie Hassan introduced the We Can’t Wait Act of 2026, which would allow SSDI claimants to bypass the mandatory five-month waiting period. In exchange for immediate payments, beneficiaries would accept a modest, actuarially sound reduction in their monthly checks.
Senators Collins, Hassan Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Allow Disabled Americans To Receive Disability Insurance During Waiting Period
The We Can't Wait Act offers disabled claimants a choice: receive benefits immediately after approval with a small reduction in monthly payments, or wait five months for the full amount. The bill aims to alleviate financial hardships like bankruptcy and death during the current waiting period.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
We Can't Wait Act of 2026
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.