Social Security Enhancement and Protection Act of 2015
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for computation of the primary insurance amount (PIA, or the monthly benefit amount payable to a worker upon retirement at full retirement age or upon entitlement to disability benefits), increasing the special minimum benefit for certain earners based on years in the workforce and a specified percentage of 1/12th of the poverty guideline for the previous calendar year.
Prescribes a formula for an increase in OASDI benefit amounts for beneficiaries on account of long-term eligibility (counting from at least 16 years after the individual's applicable date of eligibility).
Extends a child's benefit for certain full-time post-secondary students under age 22.
Amends both SSA title II and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to add an applicable percentage of a certain part of remuneration to the formula for determining taxable wages and the net earning from taxable self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base for Federal Insurance Contribution ACT (FICA, or Social Security) tax purposes beginning in 2017.
Amends SSA title II, with respect to the formula for computation of the PIA, to establish a new bend point, for individuals becoming eligible in 2017, involving the contribution and benefit base. (Bend points are dollar amounts defining brackets of average indexed monthly earnings used in the formula for determining the PIA.) Prescribes another formula for computation of the PIA, based on the new bend point, for those becoming eligible after 2017.
Amends the IRC to increase the FICA tax rates on a graduated basis beginning in 2017.
Disregards any increase in monthly OASDI benefits as a result of this Act from income or resources for any month after December 2016 for the purpose of determining the eligibility of a recipient (or the recipient's spouse or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under any federal, state, or local program financed in whole or in part with federal funds.