Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2022, 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
2017298298
2018287287
2019273273
2020259259
2021245245
2022230228
2023215212
2024199195
2025182178
2026165160
2027148142
2028130124
2029112105
20309486
20317567
20325647
20333727
2034165
2035-4-16
2036-26-38
2037-47-61
2038-70-84
2039-92-108
2040-115-132
2041-138-156
2042-161-180
2043-184-204
2044-207-228
2045-230-253
2046-253-277
2047-276-301
2048-300-326
2049-323-350
2050-346-375
2051-370-400
2052-393-424
2053-417-449
2054-440-474
2055-464-498
2056-487-523
2057-511-549
2058-536-574
2059-560-600
2060-585-627
2061-611-654
2062-637-681
2063-663-709
2064-690-737
2065-717-766
2066-745-795
2067-772-824
2068-801-854
2069-829-884
2070-858-914
2071-888-945
2072-918-977
2073-949-1010
2074-981-1043
2075-1014-1077
2076-1047-1112
2077-1082-1149
2078-1117-1186
2079-1153-1224
2080-1190-1262
2081-1227-1301
2082-1264-1340
2083-1300-1378
2084-1337-1417
2085-1374-1455
2086-1410-1493
2087-1446-1532
2088-1483-1570
2089-1520-1608
2090-1557-1647
2091-1595-1687
2092-1633-1727
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