Highlight any text to annotate

The SWIFT Act of 2026 makes several changes to Social Security survivor benefits for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses. Beginning January 1, 2027, the bill removes age restrictions that currently prevent disabled survivors under age 60 from receiving full benefits, allowing them to claim unreduced survivor benefits at any age if they have a disability. The bill also eliminates benefit reductions for disabled widows and widowers who claim before retirement age and increases the age limit for child-in-care benefits from age 16 to age 18 (or 19 for full-time students). Additionally, the bill creates a new option for survivors to delay claiming their benefits and receive increased amounts for each month of delay, similar to how delayed retirement credits work for regular retirement benefits. To protect current beneficiaries, the bill requires that increased Social Security benefits from these changes not be counted against eligibility for other federal, state, or local assistance programs. The Social Security Administration must also publish and distribute an informational booklet about survivor benefits to widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses by January 1, 2027. The bill does not specify dedicated funding, as changes to Social Security benefits are typically financed through the existing Social Security trust funds.

Add a comment

Sign in to comment on this bill.

Annotate the text

Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.