Social Security Enhancement and Protection Act of 2021
Latest action · Aug 17, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 17, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Social Security Enhancement and Protection Act of 2021
This bill increases certain Social Security taxes and benefits.
Under current law, Social Security has a taxable earnings base, which refers to the maximum amount of a worker's earnings that are subject to Social Security payroll taxes (set at $148,200 in 2021). Additionally, the taxable earnings base serves as the maximum amount of earnings used to calculate a worker's Social Security benefits.
This bill gradually increases the Social Security payroll tax rate from 6.2% to 6.5% over six years. It also phases out the taxable earnings base, thereby applying the payroll taxes to a greater amount of a worker's earnings, and revises the method to calculate a worker's Social Security benefits to account for earnings in excess of the taxable earnings base.
Other changes to benefits include establishing a new method to calculate benefits for lifetime low earners and increasing benefits for certain beneficiaries on account of long-term eligibility. In addition, an eligible child of a retired, disabled, or deceased worker may continue to receive benefits through age 26, provided the child is a full-time student.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 17, 2021Introduced in House
- Aug 17, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Aug 17, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 17, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.