Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2028, 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
2023204204
2024187187
2025168168
2026149149
2027131131
2028114113
20299694
20307876
20316057
20324339
20332520
203471
2035-12-18
2036-31-38
2037-51-58
2038-70-79
2039-91-100
2040-112-122
2041-133-144
2042-154-167
2043-176-189
2044-198-212
2045-220-235
2046-243-258
2047-265-282
2048-288-306
2049-311-329
2050-333-353
2051-357-377
2052-380-402
2053-403-426
2054-427-450
2055-450-475
2056-474-500
2057-498-525
2058-522-550
2059-547-575
2060-572-601
2061-597-628
2062-623-655
2063-650-683
2064-677-711
2065-705-740
2066-733-770
2067-762-800
2068-791-830
2069-820-860
2070-850-891
2071-880-923
2072-911-955
2073-942-987
2074-974-1020
2075-1006-1054
2076-1039-1088
2077-1074-1124
2078-1108-1160
2079-1144-1197
2080-1181-1235
2081-1218-1274
2082-1256-1313
2083-1294-1353
2084-1333-1394
2085-1373-1435
2086-1413-1477
2087-1453-1519
2088-1494-1561
2089-1534-1603
2090-1574-1644
2091-1613-1685
2092-1651-1726
2093-1689-1765
2094-1726-1804
2095-1762-1842
2096-1798-1879
2097-1833-1916
2098-1868-1952
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