Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2029, 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
2024188188
2025171171
2026152152
2027134134
2028117117
2029101100
20308483
20316866
20325350
20333734
20342218
203571
2036-9-15
2037-26-33
2038-43-50
2039-60-69
2040-78-88
2041-96-107
2042-115-127
2043-135-147
2044-154-167
2045-174-188
2046-194-209
2047-215-231
2048-235-253
2049-256-274
2050-277-296
2051-299-319
2052-320-341
2053-342-364
2054-364-387
2055-386-410
2056-409-434
2057-431-457
2058-455-482
2059-478-506
2060-502-532
2061-527-557
2062-553-584
2063-579-611
2064-605-639
2065-632-667
2066-660-696
2067-688-725
2068-716-754
2069-745-784
2070-774-814
2071-803-845
2072-834-877
2073-864-909
2074-895-941
2075-927-974
2076-960-1008
2077-993-1043
2078-1027-1078
2079-1062-1115
2080-1098-1152
2081-1134-1190
2082-1172-1229
2083-1209-1268
2084-1248-1308
2085-1287-1349
2086-1327-1391
2087-1368-1433
2088-1409-1476
2089-1450-1519
2090-1491-1562
2091-1532-1605
2092-1573-1647
2093-1612-1688
2094-1651-1729
2095-1689-1769
2096-1727-1808
2097-1764-1847
2098-1801-1885
2099-1838-1923
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