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HR 9519

Social Security 2100 Act

119th Congress Introduced by John Larson

The bill tightens Social Security finances while expanding and accelerating benefits for retirees, disabled, survivors, and caregivers through higher PIA, updated COLA, and broader

Introduced in House
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 9519

Overview

  • Bill: HR 9519, the Social Security 2100 Act
  • Session: 119th Congress
  • Purpose: Protect and strengthen the Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations.
  • Introduced by: Rep. Larson (CT), June 29, 2026
  • Committees: Ways and Means; Education and Workforce; Energy and Commerce

Main purpose and intent

  • Broad objective is to shore up the Social Security program’s finances while expanding and enhancing benefits across a range of groups (retirees, disabled, widows/widowers, children, caregivers).
  • Establishes a framework to fund benefit increases, adjust cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) more accurately, expand eligibility and benefits, and strengthen trust funds and program administration.

Key provisions and changes

Title I — Strengthening Benefits

  • Sec. 101: Across-the-board benefit increase
    • Increase the basic benefit by raising the primary benefit to 93% (from 90%) of an established reference, with benefits payable 2027–2036 recalculated accordingly.
  • Sec. 102: More accurate cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
    • Replaces CPI (traditional CPI) with an option between CPI-W or CPI-E, selecting the higher of the two for COLA calculations.
    • Adds pre-1979-law adjustments to align with the new indexing approach; allows retroactive recomputation rules and transition provisions.
  • Sec. 103: Increasing minimum benefit for long-term low earners
    • Establishes a floor ensuring that individuals with long work histories receive a higher minimum benefit.
    • Introduces an alternative minimum amount tied to years of work and a table of applicable percentages.
  • Sec. 104: Increasing threshold amounts for inclusion of Social Security benefits in income
    • Changes how Social Security benefits are taxed, raising thresholds so more benefits are excluded or taxed at different rates.
    • Reforms base amount and related transfer mechanics to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and payor funds.
  • Sec. 105: Improving benefits for widows and widowers in two-income households
    • Reconfigures survivor benefits to ensure a minimum greater of the deceased’s primary insurance amount or a calculation that includes a portion of the deceased’s benefits plus the survivor’s own PIA, with safeguards and a 9th-parameter cap.
    • Applies the changes to both widows and widowers with transitional rules.
  • Sec. 106: Increasing benefits for beneficiaries after 15 years of eligibility
    • Adds an enhanced long-term eligibility increase (up to 125% of the putative baseline through a phased schedule) for qualified beneficiaries after 16+ years of eligibility.
    • The increase scales over multiple years (16th to 20th year and beyond) with specified percentages (e.g., 20% in year 16, up to 100% by year 20+), tied to primary insurance amounts and wage-indexed references.
  • Sec. 107: Providing caregiver credits for Social Security
    • Creates a new Sec. 235 allowing deemed wages for caregivers who care for dependent relatives, crediting up to 960 hours/year of care.
    • Defines qualifying years, dependent relatives, and chronically dependent status, with reporting and certification requirements.
  • Sec. 108: Eliminating the 5-month waiting period for disability benefits
    • Eliminates or shortens the initial waiting period for disability benefits; adjusts disability beneficiary timelines and survivor provisions accordingly.
  • Sec. 109: Establishing a gradual offset for disability beneficiaries with earnings
    • Phases out or adjusts benefit reductions tied to earnings (trial work periods, work-related terminations) to reduce abrupt loss of benefits.
    • Reforms related provisions for hospital insurance and expedited reinstatement.
  • Sec. 110: Extending the child’s benefit for post-secondary students under age 26
    • Extends eligibility for child’s benefits to qualifying post-secondary students (half-time or more), with transitional rules and definitions of eligible institutions.
  • Sec. 111: Increasing access to benefits for children who live with grandparents or other relatives
    • Expands qualification criteria so that more children living with relatives can qualify for benefits, including broadened relationship definitions and custody rules.
  • Sec. 112: Preventing an unintended drop in benefits related to the National Average Wage Index
    • Adds protections to prevent COLAs from causing unintended benefit reductions, including using higher WAGE index benchmarks in certain years.
  • Sec. 113: Holding SSI, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries harmless
    • Ensures that changes to Social Security do not reduce SSI/Medicaid/CHIP eligibility or benefits, or offset benefits in ways that would harm those programs’ beneficiaries.

Title II — Strengthening the Trust Fund

  • Sec. 201: Repeal of limitation on Social Security wage base after 2026
    • Repeals the cap on earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes (FICA/SECA) after 2026.
    • Applies broadly to wages, self-employment income, and railroad retirement; aligns tax treatment to support solvency.
  • Sec. 202–203: Including earnings over the contribution base in benefit formula; applying Social Security tax to net investment income
    • Adds earnings beyond the contribution base into benefit computations.
    • Expands FICA/SECA tax bases to include certain net investment income.
  • Sec. 204: Establishing the Social Security Trust Fund
    • Creates a trust fund framework to hold increased revenue and manage disbursements.

Title III — Strengthening Service Delivery

  • Sec. 301–308: Rebuilding and modernizing operations
    • Rebuilds the Social Security customer-service workforce and keeps field offices open.
    • Enhances data protection and security.
    • Prohibits certain dual office-holding and prevents wrongful invalidation of Social Security numbers.
    • Improves access to professional representation and clarifies mailing of account statements.

Who/what would be affected

  • Beneficiaries: Current and future retirees, disabled individuals, widows/widowers, children, and dependents (including those living with relatives or caregivers).
  • Caregivers: Individuals providing care eligible for deemed wages credits.
  • Taxpayers: After 2026, higher Social Security tax base and expanded taxation of benefits, plus new adjustments to benefit formula.
  • SSI/Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries: Protections to ensure no harm from Social Security changes.
  • Social Security Administration: Expanded staff, upgraded IT and data security, and new rules for eligibility determinations and representations.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Effective windows:
    • 2027–2036: Several provisions (e.g., COLA changes, benefit increases, caregiver credits, child benefits extensions) apply to months within these years.
    • 2037 onward: Certain provisions phase out or transition per section-specific rules (e.g., COLA recalculations revert to prior treatment after 2036; 5-year transition mechanics exist for some rules).
  • Recomputations and carry-forward:
    • Primary Insurance Amounts (PIA) and other benefits may be recomputed to implement the new formulas for defined periods.
  • Transition and transition rules:
    • Several sections include transition rules and provisions to prevent sudden negative changes, and to transition from old indexing/eligibility rules to new ones.
  • Funding and trust fund:
    • Repeal of wage base caps and inclusion of higher earnings into benefits are designed to bolster the Social Security Trust Fund and ensure long-term solvency.

Notes:
- The bill provides a comprehensive package combining benefit enhancements with revenue enhancements and structural reforms to trust funds and administration.
- Exact fiscal effects (cost in dollars, impact on deficits/surpluses) are not enumerated here and would depend on the bill’s detailed scoring and companion analyses.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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