# Summary of S. 5017
This bill expands Social Security benefits and strengthens the program's finances through a combination of benefit increases and new revenue sources. Starting in 2025, it gradually extends Social Security taxation to all wages above the current cap (which is $168,600 in 2024), phasing in over five years until all earnings are subject to Social Security taxes by 2029. The bill increases benefits for current and future retirees by raising the percentage used to calculate benefits from lower earnings, adding a new "surplus earnings" component to benefit calculations, and providing an additional five percent boost for beneficiaries age 82 or older who have collected benefits for at least 20 years.
The legislation creates a new caregiver credit that grants deemed Social Security wages to people who spend at least 80 hours per month caring for dependent relatives without pay, helping caregivers build retirement benefits. It eliminates the current five-month waiting period before disability beneficiaries and surviving spouses can receive payments, making benefits available immediately upon qualification. The bill also increases the minimum benefit for lifetime low earners based on their years of work and switches to a Consumer Price Index tailored to elderly consumers for benefit adjustments, potentially providing larger annual increases.
To fund these expansions, the bill raises the Medicare investment tax on high earners from 3.8 percent to 6.8 percent, with 44.1 percent of the additional revenue dedicated to Social Security trust funds. The bill protects beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, and children's health insurance from losing those benefits due to increased Social Security payments.
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