Sponsor
Gwendolynne S. Moore
Representative · D-WI
Representative · D-WI
The bill expands and targets Social Security benefits and creates new funding and withholding rules to strengthen receipts and predictability, but it raises payroll tax exposure for many, increases administrative burdens, and adds long‑term fiscal pressure while producing uneven effects across beneficiary cohorts.
Low‑income retirees and newly eligible disabled beneficiaries will receive a higher, predictable minimum benefit tied to HHS poverty guidelines, improving income stability for people with low lifetime earnings.
Long‑standing beneficiaries (eligibility begun ≥16 years earlier) and certain spouses/survivors will get automatic monthly benefit increases, boosting incomes for long‑tenured retirees and auxiliary beneficiaries.
Full‑time post‑secondary students under 26 will be newly eligible for child's Social Security benefits (with a 4‑month grace period and clearer HEA‑aligned definitions), helping students who depend on those benefits while in school.
All beneficiaries and taxpayers face increased long‑term Social Security outlays and added pressure on the OASI Trust Fund and federal budgets because of multiple benefit expansions and new benefit tiers.
Workers, self‑employed people, and employers may see higher payroll tax exposure and greater uncertainty if the new applicable‑percentage schedule or broader taxable base increases effective OASDI rates, reducing take‑home pay and raising labor costs.
The bill creates substantial administrative and compliance complexity for SSA, employers, payers, and state/local agencies (new indexing rules, verification of student status, withholding schedules, and non‑counting rules), likely causing implementation costs, delays, and confusion.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Expands and restructures Social Security benefits and eligibility for post-2025 beneficiaries, adds a new PIA tier and automatic increases, extends child benefits to postsecondary students, and broadens payroll taxation using table-driven rates after 2025.
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to make various reforms to Social Security, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Gwendolynne S. Moore · Last progress May 20, 2025
Creates multiple changes to Social Security benefits, eligibility, and payroll taxation starting after 2025. It: (1) replaces the existing special minimum benefit with a new wage-history minimum tied to the 2025 HHS poverty guideline; (2) adds an automatic benefit increase for long-standing beneficiaries beginning in years at least 16 years after their eligibility date; (3) raises the Primary Insurance Amount formula by adding a new PIA tier with a 3% factor above a new fourth bend point; (4) extends child benefits to full-time postsecondary students up to age 26; (5) subjects wages and self-employment income above the taxable maximum to graduated “applicable percentage” taxation and replaces fixed OASDI tax rates for employees, employers, and the self-employed with table-driven percentages; and (6) protects increases from counting as income or resources for means-tested federal or federally funded state/local programs. Most changes apply to eligibility, wages, and taxable years after December 31, 2025.