Lawmakers introduced earlier this year legislation that would expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year for eligible beneficiaries.
If passed, the bill would also ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security for 75 years by applying the Social Security payroll tax on all income above $250,000.
The bill was introduced by House Representative Val Hoyle (D-OR), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The estimates of the bill’s impact are from an analysis of the legislation conducted by the Social Security Administration at the request of Sanders in 2023, according to a press statement by Hoyle.
A fact sheet lists that the Social Security Expansion Act would:
- Extend the solvency of Social Security for 75 years by requiring all income above $250,000 be taxed by the Social Security payroll tax.
- Expand Social Security benefits across-the-board for current and new beneficiaries. Under this bill, Social Security benefits for current and existing recipients would be increased by $2,400 a year.
- Increase Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments (COLAs). This bill would measure the spending patterns for seniors by adopting the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).
- Improve the Special Minimum Benefit for Social Security recipients. This bill would increase the Special Minimum Benefit and indexing the benefit level so that it is equal to 125 percent of the poverty line, or over $18,000 for a single worker who had worked their full career.
- Restore student benefits up to age 22 for children of disabled or deceased workers, if the child is a full-time student in a college or vocational school. This legislation would restore student benefits to help educate children of deceased or disabled parents that were eliminated in 1983.
According to Hoyle, the Social Security Expansion Act has also been endorsed by over 25 groups, including: Social Security Works, MoveOn, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Strengthen Social Security Coalition, American Federation of Teachers, Justice in Aging, Income Movement, Public Citizen, Blue Future, Campaign for America’s Future, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Indivisible, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AAFGE Council 215, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFSCME Retirees, American Postal Workers Union, People Power United, Left Click, Defeat Republicans, Progress America, The People United, Iron PAC, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Other98 and Solidarity Action.
The full text of the bill can be read here.
