ICYMI: House Panel Advances Social Security Claiming Bill
The House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation Wednesday to update the language used by the Social Security Administration to describe when American workers can claim their retirement benefits.
The bill, the Claiming Age Clarity Act, "tries to make it more obvious that if you claim benefits early (before age 67), you will have a lifetime reduction in your monthly benefits, and that conversely, if you delay claiming till age 70, you will receive your highest possible monthly lifetime benefit," Maria Freese, senior legislative representative at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said Thursday in an email.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., changes the terminology in materials produced by the Social Security Administration.
"Instead of calling age 62 the 'early retirement age,' it will now be called 'the minimum benefit age,'" Freese explained. Age 67 "will now be referred to as the 'standard benefit age,' and 70 would be labeled the 'maximum benefit age.'"
The bill gives SSA one year to implement the change in official language, according to Freese. "NCPSSM has been trying to educate the public for several years about the importance of delaying claiming benefits as long as feasible up until age 70; we have no objection to this bill, which received bipartisan support in the House Ways and Means Committee."
If passed, "this Act would, hopefully, make it easier for people to understand how their Social Security benefits are impacted by the age at which they start claiming," added Shannon Benton of the Senior Citizens League, in another message. "Using clearer terms could help individuals better understand how delaying or starting early affects their monthly payments."
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, agreed that while the legislation aims "to educate people about the impact of claiming Social Security retirement benefits at different ages, with the goal of encouraging them to claim later in life," the main factors "driving people's decision about when to claim benefits are their income and their (or their family members') health. If someone loses their job, or is in poor health, they are likely to claim early, regardless of what it is called."
Smucker's bill "tweaks around the edges, when what is really needed is comprehensive legislation that expands Social Security's modest benefits and addresses the funding shortfall the system faces in about a decade," Altman said.
Benton agreed that the Claiming Age Clarity Act "doesn’t address the larger issue: the program’s pending financial shortfall."
Social Security Identity Theft Bills
The Ways and Means Committee also passed Wednesday two Social Security identity theft bills.
H.R. 5345, the Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, introduced by Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., would provide for a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration for victims of identity theft.
Freese said that while NCPSSM has not yet endorsed H.R. 5345, the group endorsed the Senate version from Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maggie Hassan, D-Mass.
H.R. 5348, the Social Security Child Protection Act, also introduced by Smucker, would direct the SSA to issue a new Social Security number to a child under 14 if that child's Social Security card was stolen while being sent.