Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2025, 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
2020261261
2021248248
2022233233
2023217217
2024200200
2025183181
2026165163
2027148145
2028130126
2029112107
20309489
20317670
20325851
20333932
20342012
20351-8
2036-19-28
2037-38-49
2038-59-70
2039-80-92
2040-101-114
2041-122-136
2042-144-159
2043-166-182
2044-188-205
2045-210-228
2046-232-252
2047-255-275
2048-277-299
2049-299-322
2050-322-345
2051-344-369
2052-367-393
2053-389-416
2054-412-440
2055-434-464
2056-457-488
2057-480-512
2058-504-536
2059-527-561
2060-551-586
2061-575-611
2062-599-637
2063-624-663
2064-650-690
2065-676-717
2066-702-744
2067-728-772
2068-755-800
2069-782-828
2070-809-857
2071-837-886
2072-866-916
2073-895-946
2074-925-977
2075-955-1009
2076-986-1041
2077-1018-1074
2078-1051-1108
2079-1084-1143
2080-1119-1179
2081-1154-1216
2082-1190-1254
2083-1226-1291
2084-1263-1330
2085-1300-1368
2086-1337-1407
2087-1374-1447
2088-1411-1485
2089-1448-1524
2090-1484-1561
2091-1520-1598
2092-1554-1635
2093-1589-1671
2094-1623-1706
2095-1657-1741
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