Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2030, 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
2025169169
2026149149
2027131131
2028113113
20299595
20307877
20316059
20324341
20332623
203495
2035-9-13
2036-27-32
2037-45-51
2038-63-70
2039-83-90
2040-102-111
2041-122-132
2042-143-153
2043-164-175
2044-185-197
2045-206-219
2046-228-242
2047-250-265
2048-272-288
2049-295-311
2050-317-335
2051-340-359
2052-363-383
2053-386-407
2054-409-431
2055-433-455
2056-457-480
2057-481-505
2058-505-531
2059-530-557
2060-556-583
2061-582-611
2062-609-638
2063-636-667
2064-664-696
2065-692-725
2066-721-755
2067-750-785
2068-780-816
2069-810-847
2070-840-879
2071-871-911
2072-903-944
2073-935-977
2074-967-1011
2075-1000-1045
2076-1035-1081
2077-1070-1117
2078-1106-1154
2079-1142-1193
2080-1180-1232
2081-1219-1272
2082-1258-1312
2083-1298-1354
2084-1338-1396
2085-1380-1439
2086-1423-1484
2087-1466-1529
2088-1510-1574
2089-1554-1620
2090-1599-1666
2091-1643-1713
2092-1687-1758
2093-1731-1804
2094-1774-1849
2095-1816-1893
2096-1858-1936
2097-1900-1980
2098-1941-2023
2099-1982-2065
2100-2022-2107
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