Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2026, 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
2021253253
2022231231
2023214214
2024196196
2025178178
2026159158
2027141139
2028122120
2029104100
20308581
20316661
20324641
20332721
203470
2035-13-21
2036-33-42
2037-54-64
2038-76-86
2039-97-109
2040-119-132
2041-142-155
2042-165-178
2043-188-203
2044-211-227
2045-235-251
2046-258-276
2047-282-301
2048-306-326
2049-330-351
2050-354-376
2051-378-401
2052-403-427
2053-427-453
2054-452-478
2055-477-504
2056-502-530
2057-527-556
2058-552-583
2059-578-609
2060-604-636
2061-630-664
2062-657-692
2063-684-720
2064-712-749
2065-740-778
2066-768-807
2067-796-837
2068-825-867
2069-855-898
2070-884-929
2071-914-960
2072-945-992
2073-976-1024
2074-1007-1056
2075-1039-1089
2076-1071-1123
2077-1105-1158
2078-1139-1194
2079-1175-1231
2080-1211-1269
2081-1248-1307
2082-1286-1347
2083-1324-1386
2084-1363-1427
2085-1403-1468
2086-1443-1510
2087-1483-1552
2088-1524-1595
2089-1564-1637
2090-1604-1679
2091-1643-1719
2092-1681-1759
2093-1718-1797
2094-1754-1835
2095-1789-1872
2096-1825-1909
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