Sponsor
John B. Larson
Representative · D-CT
Representative · D-CT
The bill boosts benefits, protects SSA service access, and tightens beneficiary protections—improving incomes for many now—at the cost of higher fiscal burdens, increased payroll tax exposure for workers/employers, and added administrative complexity and uncertainty during implementation.
Seniors, low‑income workers, and caregivers will receive higher Social Security benefits and stronger minimums for 2027–2036 (higher PIA bend point, caregiver deemed‑earnings credits, and a poverty‑linked minimum), and COLA indexing is adjusted to better reflect older Americans' spending.
Workers (especially high earners) and the self‑employed will have more earnings subject to Social Security and more of their self‑employment income counted, and the bill consolidates trust accounting—boosting Trust Fund receipts and simplifying long‑term administration.
Seniors, people with disabilities, and rural residents will keep in‑person SSA access because staffing is maintained at or above the Jan 19, 2025 FTE level and a moratorium on closures preserves local offices.
Most workers, employers, and taxpayers face higher near‑term fiscal costs and/or higher payroll tax liabilities to pay for increased benefits and trust adjustments, which reduces take‑home pay and could require funding shifts across federal programs.
Many beneficiaries, students, and families may face confusion, delayed or unexpected payment changes, and eligibility problems because of overlapping formula changes, temporary provisions, and retroactive recomputations/redeterminations.
State governments, employers, SSA, and small businesses will incur increased administrative and compliance burdens (coordination of Title II with SSI/Medicaid/CHIP, many conforming rule changes, reporting/hearing requirements), raising transition costs and complexity.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Raises Social Security benefits 2027–2036, creates a CPI‑E for COLAs, expands dependent student benefits to age 26, repeals the payroll wage base after 2026, and blocks SSA office closures short-term.
Official title: To protect our Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations.
Introduced June 29, 2026 by John B. Larson · Last progress June 29, 2026
Raises Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries by increasing the primary insurance amount multiplier for the first bend point from 90% to 93% for calendar years 2027–2036, requires a new elderly-focused price index (CPI‑E) for cost-of-living adjustments, and instructs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to recompute benefits as needed. It also removes the Social Security wage base cap (the maximum earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax) after specified dates, expands child/dependent benefit eligibility for certain post‑secondary students up to age 26, and prevents SSA from closing or consolidating field/hearing offices for a limited period while requiring minimum staffing and a report on office-selection criteria. The bill changes tax code cross-references and Social Security Act provisions to implement the wage-base repeal and self-employment tax treatment, phases in indexation/COLA rules tied to a CPI for elderly consumers, and imposes administrative constraints and reporting requirements on the SSA to protect access to local service offices. These changes affect benefit levels, payroll tax treatment of wages and self-employment income, dependent benefit rules, and SSA operations.