Summary

Raises Social Security benefit amounts and creates a new minimum benefit tied to the poverty guideline for many workers, adopts a new price index for cost‑of‑living adjustments (CPI‑E), and expands child student eligibility for survivor/auxiliary benefits to age 22. It also increases tax exposure on high earners by subjecting wages above the Social Security base up to $250,000 to payroll taxes in years when the statutory wage base is under $250,000, revises self‑employment tax rules, raises the net investment income tax to 16.2% and broadens its scope, and consolidates the OASDI and DI trust funds into a single Social Security Trust Fund. Most benefit changes take effect January 1, 2026; tax changes and the trust fund consolidation take effect in the first calendar/tax year beginning after enactment; the CPI‑E COLA begins after BLS publication per the bill's timetable.

Key Points

• Raises the PIA first bend‑point replacement from 90% to 95% and adds an 18% boost to the middle bend for people first eligible after 2025.
• Creates a new poverty‑tied alternative minimum benefit for workers with more than 10 years of work credit.
• Adopts the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI‑E) for Social Security COLAs after BLS begins publishing it.
• Extends child survivor/auxiliary student benefits to age 22 and allows brief interruptions in full‑time attendance to preserve eligibility.
• Subjects wages above the Social Security taxable maximum up to $250,000 to payroll taxes in years when the statutory base is under $250,000.
• Revises self‑employment tax calculations to capture additional net earnings when the base is under $250,000.
• Increases the Net Investment Income Tax to 16.2% and widens its base to include certain active business income.
• Combines the OASI and DI Trust Funds into a single Social Security Trust Fund and makes broad conforming statutory changes.

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