Social Security 2100 Act

Key Points

• Most people getting Social Security would see bigger monthly checks. The bill raises the benefit formula's first factor from 90 percent to 93 percent and switches yearly cost-of-living raises to whichever is higher of CPI-W or a new price index built around what people age 62 and older actually spend.
• The bill changes who pays into the system to help keep it funded longer. It removes the cap so wages above the current limit get taxed, and it applies the 12.4 percent Social Security tax to investment income for people making more than $400,000 a year.
• Long-term low earners would get a guaranteed minimum benefit tied to the poverty line, reaching 125 percent of poverty for people with 30 or more years of work. This is meant to keep lifelong low-wage workers out of poverty in retirement.
• College and trade-school students could keep getting a parent's Social Security child benefit until age 26, instead of losing it at 18 or 19. The bill adds a new category for qualifying post-secondary school students in at least half-time attendance.
• People with disabilities would get help sooner and could work more without losing everything. The 5-month waiting period for disability benefits is eliminated, and benefits phase down gradually by $1 for every $2 earned above a set level instead of stopping abruptly.
• The bill protects Social Security's staff, offices, and data. It requires keeping the workforce at no less than the January 19, 2025 level, freezes office closures, bars political appointees from accessing beneficiary data, and limits overpayment clawbacks to 10 percent of a monthly check when there was no fraud.