Retirement Social Security

This New Social Security Bill Could Boost Your Check and Keep Offices Open

A proposed bill could enact several Social Security program improvements.

By Paige Cerulli , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Sept. 26, 2026

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A new bill might boost Social Security benefits for seniors while also providing important administrative support to help keep field offices open. The Social Security 2100 Act has been reintroduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal in the Senate, and Representative John Larson has brought the bill to the House. It takes a two-part approach to addressing challenges like Social Security's approaching insolvency and the fact that many retirees need more financial support than current benefits provide, plus it would enact several other program improvements.

Here's how the bill might affect your benefits and the program as a whole if it's passed and becomes law.

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Elimination of the payroll tax cap

The bill proposes requiring more payroll tax contributions from the wealthy, helping keep the program solvent. It would eliminate the current Social Security payroll tax cap, which is set at $184,500 for 2026.

Under current law, individuals pay taxes into the program on the first $184,500 of their annual income; income exceeding that cap is not taxed by the program. That means that higher earners pay Social Security taxes on just a portion of their income, while individuals who earn less pay taxes on their full income. Eliminating that cap means that high earners would pay taxes on their entire income.

Additionally, the bill would put a 12.4% tax on investment income above the $400,000 Social Security threshold.

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An improved cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

Industry experts like The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group, have criticized the current COLA formula for not reflecting the real-world cost increases seniors experience. The formula is based on Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) data. The CPI-W tracks the spending habits of younger employees, rather than how retirees tend to spend money. Healthcare, a major expense for many retirees, isn't highly weighted, but it also often outpaces inflation.

Even though the COLA is intended to ensure that Social Security benefits keep up with inflation, benefits may lose their buying power because the formula underweights retirees' most common expenses.

The bill would add the CPI-E, a price index the BLS introduced in 1982 specifically for the elderly, as an option. Each year, the SSA could use whichever index produces the larger COLA. This change may result in a COLA that boosts benefits to better keep up with inflation as retirees experience.

Higher minimum benefit floor

The bill also boosts the special minimum benefit, which provides benefits to long-term low earners. The bill would set the benefit at 125% of the poverty line, boosting benefits for seniors who are particularly financially vulnerable.

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Undoing recent Social Security Administration staffing cuts

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Trump Administration pushed out more than 8,000 SSA workers in just 15 months, which was the SSA's largest one-year staffing reduction on record. The 14% staffing cut meant that by January 2026, the SSA had fewer employees than at any time since 1967.

The bill would undo those cuts and would require the SSA Commissioner to maintain the SSA's workforce at no less than its January 19, 2025 level, before those cuts took place. Those higher staffing levels may help the organization to better serve beneficiaries.

Blocking future field office closures

The bill would also put a moratorium on future procedural requirements for closing or consolidating SSA field offices, hearing offices, and resident stations. Doing so might help ensure those in need of customer support may travel to their local field office for in-person service.

Restricting DOGE and political appointees

If passed, the bill would bar political appointees and special government appointees from accessing beneficiary data systems. The rule might help protect sensitive data from DOGE and other appointees, helping ensure beneficiary privacy.

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The pressure of Social Security's trust fund insolvency

The bill comes as Congress is feeling the pressure of the approaching Social Security trust fund insolvency. The Social Security Trustees' 2026 report projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund may be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2032, which is a quarter earlier than the 2025 report projected.

If the trust fund becomes depleted, the program's revenue may only be sufficient to pay 78% of total scheduled benefits, and an automatic benefits reduction of about 22% might be applied unless Congress takes action and keeps the fund solvent.

Bottom line

This isn't the first time the Social Security 2100 Act has been introduced; Larson has introduced various versions of the bill repeatedly since 2014, but it has never received a floor vote. The added pressure on Congress to identify and implement a solution to preserve the program and avoid benefit reductions may help give this bill the momentum it needs to receive a vote. However, the Democratic bill has no Republican cosponsors listed, so it may face an uphill battle.

Congress still has some time to preserve Social Security, but the program's future is ultimately uncertain. It might be a good idea to revise your retirement budget to plan out how to get by on a smaller check just in case benefits are reduced. In the meantime, finding ways to save money in retirement may help boost your savings and your peace of mind.

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