Ultimate Guide to the Social Security 2100 Act

Here is the ultimate guide to the Social Security 2100 Act.

Since many of us have more free time on our hands these days, here’s a comprehensive look at the text of H.R. 860 — the Social Security 2100 Act.

We’ve compiled information from our Deep Dive series and put into all into one place. In this breakdown of the text of the Social Security 2100 Act, we’ll examine each individual section of the bill.

The Social Security 2100 Act

Title I – Strengthening Benefits

Section 101 creates an “across-the-board benefit increase” by upping the amount “of the individual’s average indexed monthly earnings” from 90% to 93%.

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is an estimate of a person’s monthly income during the 35 years they earned the most. It’s used in the calculation that “determine(s) an individual’s Social Security benefits,” according to Investopedia.com.

By increasing the AIME percentage used in benefit calculations, seniors should receive a bigger Social Security check each month.

Section 102 implements a “more accurate cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries.” This is done by using “the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics rather than the general “the Consumer Price Index.” This means, under the 2100 Act, the Social Security COLA formula won’t be based on the cost-of-living for all American citizens, but senior citizens specifically instead. 

It’s shameful “the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers” isn’t already used to determine Social Security COLAs. Seniors’ costs-of-living should be used to determine seniors’ cost-of-living adjustments. It’s just commonsense. But many politicians, no doubt, view this as a way to “save” money, even if it means denying seniors the full benefits they deserve.

Young adults and middle-aged people don’t face nearly the same health and medical expenses as older Americans — just take a look at Healthsystemtracker.org‘s chart on health spending by age.

Utilizing “the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers” for COLAs should provide seniors with bigger benefit increases each year to keep up with rising costs.

These first two sections of the Social Security 2100 Act alone should provide seniors with a massive boost to their buying power and financial peace-of-mind.

Section 103 will “increase… minimum benefits for lifetime low earners based on years in the workforce.” 

According to Representative John Larson, sponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act, this section is designed around the premise that “no one who paid into the system over a lifetime should retire into poverty.” With this bill, the minimum benefits will be set at no less than “25% above the poverty line” — and increase as national wages increase.

Section 104 is a tax cut. It increases the dollar amount threshold in which “Social Security benefits are taxed if you have non-Social Security income.” The threshold would be increased from $25,000 to $50,000 for individuals and from $32,000 to $100,000 for couples. “Over 12 million Social Security recipients” will benefit from this and keep more of the Social Security money they earned.

Title I’s final section, Section 105, guarantees any Social Security benefit increases from the Social Security 2100 Act won’t “result in a reduction in SSI benefits or loss of eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP.” This means beneficiaries can rest easy knowing the architects of this legislation have worked diligently to avoid any unintended consequences.

Title II – Strengthening the Trust Fund

Sections 201 and 202, according to Representative Larson, will “have millionaires and billionaires pay the same rate as everyone else.” This will ensure the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund for years to come. 

Currently, the payroll tax is only levied on wages up to $132,900. The Social Security 2100 Act “would apply the pay roll tax to wages above $400,000.” Only the highest wage earners would be affected by this – just “the top 0.4%.”

Section 203 also creates security and stability for the Trust Fund by slowly phasing in “an increase in the contribution rate” — an increase of about 50 cents each week for the average worker until 2043. Representative Larson often makes the analogy that for just the cost of a cup of coffee every nine weeks, “American workers can fully fund the Social Security system until about the year 2100.”

Section 204 establishes a single, comprehensive Social Security Trust Fund. Currently, there are two separate Trust Funds – ‘Old-Age and Survivors’ and ‘Disability Insurance’ – that are often collectively known as “the Social Security Trust Fund.” By officially merging these two entities, we can “ensure all benefits will be paid” with the combined pool of funds.

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It’s time Congress pass the Social Security 2100 Act. Please CLICK HERE to sign our 2020 Benefits Protection Petition to help urge Congress to pass this crucial legislation.