Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2031, create a Basic Minimum Benefit (BMB) within Social Security (i.e., the cost of the BMB would be charged as a cost to the OASI Trust Fund), with the following specifications: (1) Eligibility for the BMB would be limited to OASI beneficiaries who have attained normal retirement age (NRA) or above. OASI beneficiaries under NRA would not be eligible for the BMB. (2) The BMB would be calculated on a household basis and split equally between members of the household. In the case of a married couple, both spouses would need to claim any Social Security benefits for which they are eligible before they could receive the BMB. If both spouses have claimed and one is NRA or above and the other has not yet attained NRA, only the half of the BMB for the spouse over NRA would be payable. (3) The BMB amount for single beneficiaries would be equal to either: 1) the BMB base ($604 in 2015) - 0.70 * current monthly OASI benefit (not including any BMB), if positive; or 2) zero. (4) The BMB amount for married beneficiaries would be equal to either: 1) the BMB base ($906 in 2015) - 0.70 * total household monthly OASI benefits (not including any BMB), if positive; or 2) zero. (5) The BMB bases for singles and couples would be updated annually for changes in the average wage index (AWI). (6) Single filers with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) over $30,000 and joint filers with AGI (including taxable SS benefits) over $45,000 would be subject to clawback of the BMB through the income tax system. Any BMB would be reduced by one dollar for every dollar of income above the thresholds. (Thresholds, in 2015 dollars, would be indexed to chained CPI-U.) Clawbacks would be credited back to the OASI Trust Fund.

OASDI Trust Fund Ratio
(assets as a percentage of annual expenditures)

Year Current Law Provision
2026151151
2027131131
2028111111
20299292
20307474
20315756
20324039
20332321
203475
2035-9-12
2036-25-29
2037-41-46
2038-58-64
2039-76-82
2040-94-101
2041-112-121
2042-132-141
2043-151-161
2044-171-182
2045-192-204
2046-213-226
2047-234-248
2048-256-271
2049-279-294
2050-301-318
2051-324-342
2052-347-366
2053-371-391
2054-395-416
2055-420-441
2056-445-467
2057-470-493
2058-496-520
2059-522-548
2060-550-576
2061-578-605
2062-607-635
2063-636-665
2064-666-696
2065-697-728
2066-729-761
2067-761-794
2068-794-828
2069-827-862
2070-861-898
2071-896-933
2072-931-970
2073-967-1007
2074-1004-1045
2075-1042-1084
2076-1081-1125
2077-1121-1166
2078-1162-1208
2079-1204-1252
2080-1248-1297
2081-1292-1342
2082-1337-1389
2083-1384-1437
2084-1431-1486
2085-1480-1536
2086-1530-1587
2087-1581-1640
2088-1633-1694
2089-1686-1748
2090-1740-1804
2091-1795-1861
2092-1850-1918
2093-1906-1975
2094-1962-2034
2095-2019-2092
2096-2075-2150
2097-2132-2209
2098-2189-2268
2099-2246-2327
2100-2303-2385
2101-2359-2444
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