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HR 9519

Social Security 2100 Act

119th Congress Introduced by Suzan DelBene and 2 co-sponsors

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
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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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