NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

Retirement

Older Americans Act Reauthorization. The Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act (S. 2120): Proposals to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965 and to increase the authorization of appropriations for OAA programs, which is the major federal discretionary funding source for home and community-based services for older adults and their caregivers. Programs supported through the OAA include home-delivered and congregate nutrition services, in-home supportive services, transportation, caregiver support, community service employment, health and wellness programs, the long-term care ombudsman program, services to prevent the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults, and other supportive services. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers (ABC) Act (H.R. 2491): Proposals would require HHS and SSA to review application processes, procedures, forms, and communications for Medicare, Medicaid, Childrens Health Insurance Program, and Social Security programs in order to reduce administrative barriers facing family caregivers. The bill requires agencies to identify and report to Congress on actions that can be taken to streamline eligibility and assistance for family caregivers within existing programs. Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). The Fair COLA for Seniors Act (No bill) and the Social Security Cost of Living Increase Act (No bill): Proposals to adopt the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) for the purpose of determining COLAs for Social Security beneficiaries; the Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act (No bill): Proposal to calculate COLAs using the current Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) or the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), whichever is greater. Social Security Expansion. The Social Security 2100 Act (No bill): Proposals to improve benefits and to strengthen Social Security's financing by altering the payroll tax cap, among other changes. The Social Security Expansion Act (S. 770 and H.R. 1700): Proposals to enhance Social Security benefits and ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security program. The Strengthening Social Security Act (No bill): Proposals to extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds and improve benefits. The Safeguarding American Families & Expanding Social Security Act (No bill): Proposals to update and modernize Social Security benefits and to extend solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act (No bill): Proposals to adopt the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) for the purpose of determining COLAs for Social Security beneficiaries and to ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security program by altering the payroll tax cap. The Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement Act (No bill): Proposals to improve benefits for widows and widowers in two-income households. The Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment Act (SWIFT Act) (No bill): Proposal to increase survivors benefits for disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses; Social Security Enhancement and Protection Act (H.R. 3517): Proposal would improve Social Security benefits by increasing the Special Minimum Benefit, boosting benefits for seniors who have on the Social Security rolls for a long period of time, restore student benefits to age 26 and extend the life of the Trust Funds by eliminating the cap on Social Security benefits and phasing-in an increase in the payroll tax rate. Social Security Funding. The Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act (H.R. 3271 and S. 1690): Proposals to close the loophole for wealthy individuals who bypass paying the net investment income tax (NIIT) and directing the revenue to the Social Security Trust Funds and to the Hospital Insurance Fund, which pays for Medicare Part A that covers inpatient care in hospitals. Social Security Privatization and Benefit Cuts. Proposals to borrow funds to invest in the stock market, to raise the Social Security retirement age and to cut Social Security benefits for future retirees promoted by Senator Bill Cassidy and Senator Angus King. Caregiver Social Security Credits. The Social Security Caregiver Credits Act (No bill): Proposal to provide Social Security wage credits for individuals who reduce their participation in the workforce or leave the workforce to provide care to specified family members and relatives. Social Security Notch. (No bill): Proposals to ensure that Social Security benefits for individuals born in 1960 and 1961 are not reduced as a result of the coronavirus-related drop in the average wage index. Protecting Seniors from Garnishment. (No bill): Proposal to protect Social Security beneficiaries from having their Social Security benefits garnished to recover unpaid student loans. Social Security Disability Insurance Claim Adjudication. (No bill): Proposal to nullify the rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on November 16, 2020, that outlines when its administrative appeals judges may hold hearings and issue decisions on individual cases. Currently, these judges serve an appellate function where they review, at the request of Social Security claimants, the decisions of the administrative law judges who issue decisions in individual cases. Social Security Overpayments. (H.R. 2999, H.R. 2142 and S. 1023): Proposals to protect retirees, survivors and people with disabilities from being forced to repay extra Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits they received through no fault of their own. Strengthening Beneficiaries Rights. (No bill): Various proposals relating to the protection and rights available to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. Social Security Benefit Statements. The Know Your Social Security Act (No bill): Proposal to implement section 1143 of the Social Security Act by clarifying the Social Security Administration is required to mail annual benefit statements to all workers over age 25. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program. The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act (No bill): Proposals to strengthen and restore the SSI program. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (H.R. 2540 and S. 1234): Proposal to amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update the resource limit for Supplemental Security Income eligibility. The Fairness in Social Security Act (No bill): Proposal to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude the portion of a lump-sum Social Security benefit payment that relates to periods prior to the taxable year from the determination of household income as it relates to SSI eligibility. Retirement Plan Distribution: IRS Notice relating to Use of an Electronic Medium to Make Participant Elections and Spousal Consents (RIN 1545-Bq50). House Committee on Aging. (No bill): A Resolution amending the Rules of the House to reestablish a Permanent Select Committee on Aging. Retirement Plan Fiduciary Rule: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Office of Regulations and Interpretations - RIN 1210-AC02; Application No. D-12057; Application No. D-12060. The Department of Labor proposed regulation to modernize the fiduciary rule to strengthen protections for retirement investors who seek professional investment advice. (No bill): Congressional reversal of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary". Social Security Administration. (No bill). Mismanagement at the Social Security Administration that is impeding beneficiarys access to their earned benefits by, but not limited to, cutting staff at a time when staffing levels were already at a 50 year low and 10,000 Americans are reaching age 65 every day, closing or planning to close SSA field offices and regional offices without a plan that would effectively replace the services provided by these offices, compromising beneficiary privacy by allowing access to Americans personal information such as Social Security numbers, earnings histories, banking information and medical information to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), rolling back time-saving and pro-beneficiary policies on overpayments, promoting false narratives on fraud and waste at the Social Security Administration as a pretense for instituting identity verification procedures that will impede Americans from accessing their earned benefits, temporarily canceling Enumeration at Birth (EAB) contracts, undermining program integrity and eroding public trust in Social Security, destabilizing the administration of Social Security benefits by laying off employees with the technological skills to maintain SSAs computer systems and instituting wholesale migration of the Agencys computing infrastructure without adequate planning and at a pace that will inevitably result in computer breakdowns that will impede the ability of Americans to access their earned benefits. Social Security Administration. Resolution of Inquiry by Representative John Larson (H. Res. 195): Requesting information be provided to Congress regarding the Department of Government Efficiencys (DOGE) access to the Social Security Administrations computer data, which compromises beneficiary privacy by allowing access to Americans personal information such as Social Security numbers, banking information, earnings history and medical information. Social Security Administration. Keep Our Field Offices Open Act (H.R. 1876): Proposals to suspend Social Security field office closures until January 21, 2029, after which date the Commissioner of Social Security would be required to submit a detailed report to Congress, laying out and justifying a process for closing, consolidating, or reducing access to field offices; bill also requires the Commissioner to maintain the total number of field offices and hearing offices that were in operation on January 20, 2025, after the moratorium ends and requires that, in considering future office closures, the Commissioner must consider potential transportation and communication barriers for individuals served by the office, provide significant advance notice to the public and members of Congress, and ensure opportunities for public input and appeals. Social Security Administration. Protecting Americans Social Security Data Act (H.R. 1877): Proposals to protect Americans from having their sensitive personal information politicized or bought and sold to the highest bidder by preventing Elon Musk, his associates, and political appointees from accessing sensitive data systems at SSA, codifying SSA data privacy requirements into law and strengthening oversight and civil penalties for any privacy and disclosure violations of Social Security beneficiaries personal information. Social Security Administration. The Improving Social Securitys Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act (S. 1666): Proposal to improve Social Security's service to victims of identity theft by requiring the Social Security Administration to provide a single point of contact for any individual whose Social Security account number has been misused. Social Security Administration. Comments on Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations, Docket No. SSA-2021-0014; Comments on Expanding the Rental Subsidy, Docket No. SSA-2023-0010; Comments on Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process Including How We Consider Past Work, Docket No. SSA-2023-0024; Comments on Rulemaking Expanding the Definition of a Public Assistance Household, Docket No. SSA-2023-0015; Comments on strengthening rule regarding the Use of Electronic Payroll Data to Improve Program Administration, Docket No. SSA-2016-0039. Social Security Administration. Comments submitted regarding Social Security Form SSA-827 proposal (Medical Record Collection Process) and the Disability Applicant Evidence Simplification Act (DAESA) draft. Social Security Administration. The creation of an online application for all SSI applicants, streamlining data collection to more effectively obtain treating source evidence, eliminating the reconsideration level of review, updating outdated occupational information, adding a robust online scheduling tool and ensuring comprehensive customer service for all individuals. Womens Retirement Security. The Womens Retirement Protection Act (S. 988 and H.R. 2023): Proposal to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under defined contribution plans. Food Security for Seniors. Farm bill reauthorization (American Relief Act, P.L. 118-158, Division D): Provisions to cut future Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or other harmful policies that would worsen the problem of hunger for Americas older adults and other food insecure individuals.