[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2653 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2653
To create a poverty relief benefit under title II of the Social
Security Act for eligible individuals.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 12, 2018
Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Casey) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create a poverty relief benefit under title II of the Social
Security Act for eligible individuals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elder Poverty Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. POVERTY RELIEF BENEFIT.
(a) In General.--Title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 201
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``poverty relief benefit
``Sec. 235. (a) Subject to subsection (d), any eligible individual
shall be entitled to a poverty relief benefit that shall be--
``(1) in addition to any other amounts to which the individual is
entitled under this title;
``(2) certified and paid monthly in such manner as the Commissioner
of Social Security (referred to in this section as the `Commissioner')
considers appropriate; and
``(3) equal to the monthly benefit amount determined under
subsection (b).
``(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (4), the monthly benefit amount
determined under this subsection for any calendar year shall be a
dollar amount equal to \1/12\th of 2 percent of the national average
wage index for the year (as defined in section 209(k)(1)).
``(2) If the monthly benefit amount determined under paragraph (1)
is not a whole dollar, such amount shall be rounded down to the next
lower whole dollar.
``(3) The Commissioner shall determine the monthly benefit amount
under this subsection for each calendar year not later than October 1
of the preceding calendar year, based on the most recent data that is
available.
``(4) If the monthly benefit amount determined for a calendar year
under paragraph (1) is less than the monthly benefit amount determined
for any previous calendar year, the highest monthly benefit amount
determined for a previous year shall be the monthly benefit amount for
the calendar year involved.
``(5) For purposes of a monthly benefit amount payable to an
eligible individual pursuant to this section, such amount shall be
payable for each month during the 12-month period from the month of
December of the applicable calendar year under such subsection through
the month of November of the subsequent calendar year.
``(c)(1) For purposes of this section, the term `eligible
individual' means any of the following:
``(A) An individual who--
``(i) is entitled to a monthly benefit under subsections
(a) through (h) of section 202 or section 223(a); and
``(ii) attains 82 years of age or 240 benefit months (as
defined in paragraph (3)) on the basis of the wages and self-
employment income of 1 individual, whichever is earlier.
``(B) An individual who--
``(i) is eligible for supplemental security income benefits
under title XVI; and
``(ii) attains retirement age (as defined in section
216(l)) or 240 benefit months (as defined in paragraph (3)),
whichever is earlier.
``(C) An individual who--
``(i) is entitled to a monthly benefit under subsections
(a) through (h) of section 202;
``(ii) attains retirement age (as defined in section
216(l));
``(iii) has average indexed monthly earnings which do not
exceed the amount specified in subparagraph (B) of section
215(a)(1) for the purposes of clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of
such section 215(a); and
``(iv) has not less than 11 years of coverage (as defined
for purposes of section 215(a)(7)(D)).
``(2)(A) An individual's entitlement to a poverty relief benefit
under this section shall be suspended if, during any month, the
individual ceases to be an eligible individual.
``(B) In the case of an individual described in subparagraph (A)
who subsequently satisfies the requirements under paragraph (1), such
individual shall be reentitled to a poverty relief benefit under this
section.
``(3)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), for purposes of this
subsection, the term `benefit month' means a month for which an
individual has--
``(i) attained age 19; and
``(ii) been--
``(I) entitled to a monthly benefit under
subsections (a) through (h) of section 202 or section
223(a); or
``(II) eligible for supplemental security income
benefits under title XVI.
``(B) The term `benefit month' shall not include any month in which
an individual is--
``(i) entitled to a benefit under section 202 that is not
payable or reduced to zero by application of subsection (k),
(n), (t), (u), (v), or (x) of such section and is not eligible
for a benefit under title XVI (or is eligible for a benefit
under such title but the benefit is not payable or reduced to
zero);
``(ii) eligible for a benefit under title XVI that is not
payable or reduced to zero and is not entitled to a benefit
under sections 202 or 223 (or is entitled to a benefit under
such section 202 but the benefit is not payable or reduced to
zero); or
``(iii) subject to a penalty under section 1129A.
``(C) In the case of an individual who is entitled to a monthly
insurance benefit described in subclause (I) of subparagraph (A)(ii) on
the basis of the wages and self-employment income of more than 1
individual, a benefit month shall be determined based on the wages and
self-employment income that are the basis of the largest benefit to
which such individual is entitled for such month.
``(d)(1) In no case shall an eligible individual be entitled to
more than 1 poverty relief benefit under this section for any month.
``(2) For any month in which an eligible individual is entitled to
a monthly benefit described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) on the basis of
the wages and self-employment income of more than 1 individual, a
poverty relief benefit under this section may only be paid for such
month on the basis of the wages and self-employment that are the basis
for the largest monthly benefit to which such individual is entitled
for such month.
``(3) Any amounts provided to an eligible individual pursuant to
this section shall not be regarded as income or earnings for purposes
of determining the eligibility of the recipient for benefits or
assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under
any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in
whole or in part with Federal funds, or the eligibility for or extent
of benefits or assistance under such programs of any individual for
whom the income of the recipient is counted.''.
(b) Railroad Retirement Act.--Section 19 of the Railroad Retirement
Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231r) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsection:
``(d)(1) An individual entitled to an annuity component computed
under section 3(a)(1), 4(a)(1), or 4(f)(1) of this Act shall be
entitled to the benefit described in section 235 of the Social Security
Act, subject to the requirements and conditions set forth therein.'';
and
(3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by striking
``subsection (a), (b), or (c)'' each place it appears and
inserting ``subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d)''.
(c) Source of Funds.--Subsection (h) of section 201 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) is amended to read as follows:
``(h)(1) Benefit payments required to be made under section 223,
and benefit payments required to be made under subsection (b), (c), or
(d) of section 202 to individuals entitled to benefits on the basis of
the wages and self-employment income of an individual entitled to
disability insurance benefits, shall be made only from the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund. All other benefit payments required to
be made under this title (other than sections 226 and 235) shall be
made only from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
``(2) Any benefit payment required to made under section 235 to an
individual entitled to a poverty relief benefit under such section
shall be made--
``(A) in the case of an individual who is also entitled to
a benefit under section 202 or 223, from the same trust fund
from which the individual's benefit under section 202 or 223 is
made; and
``(B) in the case of an individual who is not entitled to a
benefit under section 202 or 223, from funds appropriated for
such purpose pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in
section 1601.''.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1601 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381) is amended by striking ``there are
authorized'' and all that follows through the period and inserting the
following: ``and to make poverty relief benefit payments under section
235 to individuals who are described in section 201(h)(2)(B), there are
authorized to be appropriated sums sufficient to carry out this title
and make such payments.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to benefits payable for months beginning after November 2018.
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