# Social Security 2100 Act: Plain Language Summary

The Social Security 2100 Act is a comprehensive proposal to strengthen Social Security by increasing benefits for current and future retirees, people with disabilities, and survivors, while also ensuring the program has enough money to pay those benefits long-term. Think of it as a major overhaul designed to make Social Security more generous and more financially stable.

The bill makes several changes to how much money people receive from Social Security. It increases the basic benefit calculation, which means everyone getting Social Security would receive higher monthly payments starting in 2025. It also improves how cost-of-living adjustments work—the annual increases that help benefits keep up with inflation—by using a calculation that better reflects what older Americans actually spend money on, rather than the general population. For people who worked their entire lives but earned low wages, the bill guarantees a higher minimum benefit so they don't live in poverty. The bill also helps widows and widowers, extends benefits for college students, provides credits for people who took time out of work to care for family members, and removes some outdated rules that currently reduce benefits for certain government workers and their families.

To pay for these improvements, the bill increases how much high-income workers contribute to Social Security. Currently, Social Security taxes only apply to the first $168,600 of earnings (this number changes yearly). The bill would apply Social Security taxes to earnings above $250,000, meaning wealthy workers would pay more into the system. It also applies Social Security taxes to investment income for high earners and creates a dedicated trust fund to ensure the program remains solvent. Finally, the bill improves customer service by requiring Social Security to mail account statements to people, keeping local offices open, and making it easier for people to get professional help navigating the system.

Social Security 2100 Act

Larson, John B.

Social Security 2100 Act This bill modifies the Social Security system, particularly with respect to benefit calculations, fund administration, and beneficiary resources. For example, the bill temporarily increases the primary insurance amount for Social Security benefits for all individuals (from 90% of a certain portion of average indexed monthly earnings to 93%). It also modifies benefit calculations for certain individuals, including by temporarily (1) increasing benefits for widows or widowers in two-income households; and (2) allowing children of a deceased, disabled, or retired worker to remain eligible for benefits through age 25 if they are full-time students. Additionally, the bill temporarily eliminates (1) the government pension offset, which reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own; and (2) the windfall elimination provision, which reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes. The bill also modifies the financing and administration of the Social Security trust funds. For example, the bill (1) subjects income over $400,000 to Social Security payroll taxes, and (2) combines the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund into a single Social Security Trust Fund. Finally, the bill establishes requirements relating to Social Security services and resources, including by prohibiting the closure of field offices unless certain conditions are met (e.g., public hearings).