[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 200 (Monday, December 1, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4937-H4938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CLAIMING AGE CLARITY ACT
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5284) to require the Social Security Administration
to make changes to the social security terminology used in the rules,
regulation, guidance, or other materials of the Administration, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5284
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 ``Claiming Age Clarity Act''.
SEC. 2. CHANGES TO SOCIAL SECURITY TERMINOLOGY.
Not later than the later of the date that is 12 months
after the date of enactment of this Act or January 1, 2027,
the Commissioner of Social Security shall ensure that, in any
rules, regulation, guidance, or other materials of the Social
Security Administration, whether online or in print--
(1) the term ``early eligibility age'' is replaced with the
term ``minimum monthly benefit age'';
(2) the terms ``full retirement age'' and ``normal
retirement age'' are replaced with the term ``standard
monthly benefit age''; and
(3) the term ``delayed retirement credit'' shall not be
used and any reference to age 70 as the maximum age up to
which delayed retirement credits can be received shall be
replaced with the term ``maximum monthly benefit age''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Claiming Age Clarity Act,
bipartisan legislation introduced by my Ways and Means colleagues,
Representative Lloyd Smucker and Don Beyer.
Planning for one's retirement can be stressful enough without having
to interpret needlessly complicated terminology. Unfortunately,
millions of Americans claiming Social Security today often face
confusing and misleading terms used by the agency that make it that
much harder to make informed decisions about one's financial future.
Under the legislation before us, the Social Security Administration
will be required to update the agency's language to make it clearer and
more straightforward. This will help ensure that Americans do not
accidentally claim benefits earlier than they should, are completely
informed, and don't potentially miss out on substantial income during
their retirement years.
This is critical for the nearly 100,000 citizens living in
Representative Smucker's district and the over 80,000 in Representative
Beyer's district who are nearing retirement age today. It is why
organizations like the AARP, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the
Association of Mature American Citizens have come out in support of
this bill, which received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Ways
and Means Committee. I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1650
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5284, the Claiming Age Clarity
Act. I thank my colleagues, Mr. Smucker and Mr. Beyer, for their
leadership on this important legislation.
As Mr. Smith has described, these changes will better help seniors
understand the advantages and disadvantages of claiming at different
ages. I certainly know folks among my constituency who are faced with
this confusion. This bill addresses that.
I want to quote Mr. Beyer, who is not with us. He is an author of the
bill, along with Mr. Smucker. He noted, in our committee report, this
bill ``doesn't solve the big picture on Social Security, which this
committee presides over, nor does it fix the data privacy, customer
service, or staffing disaster that DOGE and this administration have
put on this agency, but it will help on the margins, and I am glad that
this little bill is seeing the light today.''
Mr. Speaker, this bill passed the Committee on Ways and Means with
overwhelming bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle to support this commonsense legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).
[[Page H4938]]
Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader for bringing this bill
to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, Ms. Moore is right. There are serious questions about
Social Security and its sustainability going forward. I can tell my
colleagues that Republicans want to ensure that the promises that have
been made to the American people will be kept.
We need to have that conversation that Ms. Moore talked about. We
need to make structural changes to the program. We have a math problem.
In 8 years, if nothing is done, beneficiaries will not receive their
full payments. It is time we begin to have that discussion.
Mr. Speaker, for individuals who are reaching retirement age, this
ensures they have the best information available to them as they make
decisions about when to start benefits.
Today, we use terms like ``early eligibility age,'' ``full retirement
age,'' and ``delayed retirement credits.'' Those are confusing to
people I talk with about this. Studies show that most beneficiaries
don't fully understand how their claiming decisions will affect their
monthly benefits. As a result, there are many seniors today who may be
missing out on substantial retirement income because of suboptimal
claiming decisions they made.
Mr. Speaker, that is where the Claiming Age Clarity Act comes in. My
bill would simply change the terminology used by the Social Security
Administration to describe the different ages when an individual can
begin to claim their benefits.
Instead of ``early retirement age,'' this bill would refer to 62 as
the ``minimum benefit age.'' If Americans start Social Security at 62,
then that is the smallest benefit, the minimum benefit, they would
receive. ``Full retirement age'' would become the ``standard benefit
age.'' Age 70 would be referred to as the ``maximum benefit age.'' When
describing this, it doesn't get any simpler than minimum, standard, and
maximum benefit ages.
This bill will help seniors make informed decisions when deciding
when to begin their Social Security benefits that they have earned.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Beyer for leading this effort with me, and I
urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, I think this is a commonsense bill, and I am so happy
that our colleagues thought it appropriate to bring it forward to help
older Americans make better-informed decisions.
As I indicated, I have had friends who retired at age 62 and thought
that that would be a better time based on the misinterpretation of the
language.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, no American entering retirement should lose out on their
hard-earned Social Security benefits because the Social Security
Administration failed to provide information in clear and
understandable terms. We need to make it easier and not harder for
individuals to plan for retirement in this country.
The Claiming Age Clarity Act is a positive step in the right
direction. Representatives Smucker and Beyer are to be commended for
forging this bipartisan consensus on a policy that will improve
retirement security and ensure the bureaucracy here in Washington
better serves American seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5284, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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