Breaking down the Social Security Expansion Act
Senator Bernie Sanders believes that while Social Security has been a popular and successful government program, it has only done part of the job that it was created to do. This is where his bill, the Social Security Expansion Act, comes into play.
The goal of the Social Security Expansion Act is to “enhance Social Security benefits and ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security program.”
What does that mean exactly?
- The Social Security Expansion Act would introduce an across-the-board increase in benefits starting in 2025
- It would replace the regular Consumer Price Index with the CPI-E measure when determining annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs)
- It would change the way minimum benefits are calculated for low-income earners, earning low-income seniors approximately $1,300 per year more in benefits
- It would allow children to remain eligible to receive benefits through age 22, as long as they are full-time students
- It would extend payroll taxes on wages, salaries and self-employment earnings to income above $250,000
- It would boost the current 3.8% surtax on net investment income on high income taxpayers to 10%