SWIFT Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1772 To amend title II of the Social Security Act to increase survivors benefits for disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title II of the Social Security Act to increase survivors benefits for disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Surviving Widow(er) 4 Income Fair Treatment Act of 2021’’, or the ‘‘SWIFT 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1772 IS SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR UNREDUCED SURVIVORS BENE- 1 FITS FOR WIDOWS, WIDOWERS, AND SUR- 2 VIVING DIVORCED SPOUSES WITH DISABIL- 3 ITIES AT ANY AGE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 402) is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (e)— 7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 8 (i) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 9 (I) by striking ‘‘has attained age 10 50 but has not attained age 60 and’’; 11 and 12 (II) by striking ‘‘which began be- 13 fore the end of the period specified in 14 paragraph (4)’’; and 15 (ii) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by strik- 16 ing ‘‘(I) in the period specified in para- 17 graph (4) and (II)’’; 18 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 19 follows: 20 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), if a widow 21 or surviving divorced wife marries after the first 22 month in which she satisfies subparagraphs (A) and 23 (B) of such paragraph, such marriage shall be 24 deemed not to have occurred.’’; 25 (C) by striking paragraph (4); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1772 IS (D) in paragraph (5)(A), by amending 1 clause (ii) to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(ii) which begins not earlier than the first 3 day of the seventeenth month before the month 4 in which her application is filed.’’; and 5 (2) in subsection (f)— 6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 7 (i) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 8 (I) by striking ‘‘has attained age 9 50 but has not attained age 60 and’’; 10 and 11 (II) by striking ‘‘which began be- 12 fore the end of the period specified in 13 paragraph (4)’’; and 14 (ii) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by strik- 15 ing ‘‘(I) in the period specified in para- 16 graph (4) and (II)’’; 17 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 18 follows: 19 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), if a wid- 20 ower or surviving divorced husband marries after the 21 first month in which he satisfies subparagraphs (A) 22 and (B) of such paragraph, such marriage shall be 23 deemed not to have occurred.’’; 24 (C) by striking paragraph (4); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1772 IS (D) in paragraph (5)(A), by amending 1 clause (ii) to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(ii) which begins not earlier than the first 3 day of the seventeenth month before the month 4 in which his application is filed.’’. 5 (b) ELIMINATION OF REDUCTION OF BENEFIT 6 AMOUNTS FOR BENEFITS CLAIMED BY WIDOWS, WID- 7 OWERS, AND SURVIVING DIVORCED SPOUSES WITH DIS- 8 ABILITIES BEFORE RETIREMENT AGE.—Section 202(q) 9 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(q)) is amend- 10 ed— 11 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘and has 12 attained age 62’’ and all that follows through ‘‘wid- 13 ower’s insurance benefit)’’ and inserting ‘‘and, in the 14 case of a wife’s or husband’s insurance benefit, has 15 attained age 62’’; 16 (2) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the 17 following new subparagraph: 18 ‘‘(E) No widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit shall 19 be reduced under this subsection for any month during 20 which the individual entitled to such benefit is entitled to 21 the benefit on the basis of paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of sub- 22 section (e) (in the case of a widow’s insurance benefit) 23 or paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of subsection (f) (in the case of 24 a widower’s insurance benefit).’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1772 IS (3) in paragraph (7)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘ben- 2 efits, and’’ and inserting ‘‘benefits,’’; 3 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 5 (C) by adding at the end the following new 6 subparagraph: 7 ‘‘(G) in the case of a widow’s or widower’s in- 8 surance benefit— 9 ‘‘(i) any month in which there was no re- 10 duction to the benefit under this subsection 11 pursuant to paragraph (5)(E); and 12 ‘‘(ii) any month in which there would have 13 been no reduction to the benefit under this sub- 14 section pursuant to paragraph (5)(E) if such 15 paragraph had been in effect for such month.’’. 16 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of the 17 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402) is amended— 18 (1) in subsection (e)— 19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 20 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (7); and 21 (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(i), by striking 22 ‘‘(as defined in paragraph (5))’’ and inserting 23 ‘‘(as defined in paragraph (4))’’; and 24 (2) in subsection (f)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1772 IS (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 1 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (7); and 2 (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(i), by striking 3 ‘‘(as defined in paragraph (5))’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘(as defined in paragraph (4))’’. 5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 6 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2022, and shall 7 apply to determinations of eligibility for, and the amount 8 of, widow’s and widower’s insurance benefits payable on 9 or after such date. 10 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN CHILD’S AGE LIMIT FOR CHILD-IN- 11 CARE BENEFITS. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(s)(1) of the Social 13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(s)(1)) is amended by striking 14 ‘‘age of 16’’ and inserting ‘‘age of 18 (or, in the case of 15 a child who is a full-time elementary or secondary school 16 student, 19)’’. 17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 18 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2022, and shall 19 apply to determinations of eligibility for, and the amount 20 of, benefits payable on or after such date. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1772 IS SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF BENEFIT LIMIT FOR WIDOWS, 1 WIDOWERS, AND SURVIVING DIVORCED 2 SPOUSES; INCREASE IN BENEFIT AMOUNT 3 FOR DELAY IN CLAIMING BENEFITS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 402), as amended by section 2, is further 6 amended— 7 (1) in subsection (e)(2)— 8 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 9 ‘‘subsection (aa), subsection (bb)’’ after ‘‘sub- 10 section (q),’’; and 11 (B) by amending subparagraph (D) to 12 read as follows: 13 ‘‘(D) Subject to subsections (aa) and (bb), if the de- 14 ceased individual (on the basis of whose wages and self- 15 employment income a widow or surviving divorced wife is 16 entitled to widow’s insurance benefits under this sub- 17 section) was, at any time, entitled to an old-age insurance 18 benefit which was reduced by reason of the application of 19 subsection (q), the widow’s insurance benefit of such 20 widow or surviving divorced wife for any month shall not 21 exceed the greater of— 22 ‘‘(i) amount of the old-age insurance benefit to 23 which such deceased individual would have been en- 24 titled (after application of subsection (q)) for such 25 month if such individual were still living and section 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1772 IS 215(f)(5), 215(f)(6), or 215(f)(9)(B) were applied, 1 where applicable; and 2 ‘‘(ii) 821⁄2 percent of the primary insurance 3 amount (as determined without regard to subpara- 4 graph (C)) of such deceased individual.’’; 5 (2) in subsection (f)(2)— 6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 7 ‘‘subsection (aa), subsection (bb),’’ after ‘‘sub- 8 section (q),’’; and 9 (B) by amending subparagraph (D) to 10 read as follows: 11 ‘‘(D) Subject to subsections (aa) and (bb), if the de- 12 ceased individual (on the basis of whose wages and self- 13 employment income a widower or surviving divorced hus- 14 band is entitled to widower’s insurance benefits under this 15 subsection) was, at any time, entitled to an old-age insur- 16 ance benefit which was reduced by reason of the applica- 17 tion of subsection (q), the widower’s insurance benefit of 18 such widower or surviving divorced husband for any month 19 shall not exceed the greater of— 20 ‘‘(i) amount of the old-age insurance benefit to 21 which such deceased individual would have been en- 22 titled (after application of subsection (q)) for such 23 month if such individual were still living and section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1772 IS 215(f)(5), 215(f)(6), or 215(f)(9)(B) were applied, 1 where applicable; and 2 ‘‘(ii) 821⁄2 percent of the primary insurance 3 amount (as determined without regard to subpara- 4 graph (C)) of such deceased individual.’’; and 5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 6 sections: 7 ‘‘Increase Over Retirement Insurance Benefit Limit of 8 Widow’s and Widower’s Insurance Benefit Amounts 9 on Account of Delayed Receipt of Benefit 10 ‘‘(aa)(1) Subject to paragraph (6), the amount of a 11 widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit (other than a ben- 12 efit based on a primary insurance amount determined 13 under section 215(a)(3) as in effect in December 1978 or 14 section 215(a)(1)(C)(i) as in effect thereafter) which is 15 payable without regard to this subsection to an individual 16 who is described in paragraph (7) for a month shall be 17 increased by— 18 ‘‘(A) the applicable percentage (as determined 19 for the individual under paragraph (5)) of such 20 amount, multiplied by 21 ‘‘(B) the number (if any) of the increment 22 months for such individual. 23 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the number of 24 increment months for any individual shall be a number 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1772 IS equal to the total number of months beginning on or after 1 January 1, 2022, during which— 2 ‘‘(A) the individual— 3 ‘‘(i) would have been entitled to a widow’s 4 or widower’s insurance benefit except that the 5 individual had not filed an application for such 6 benefit; or 7 ‘‘(ii) was entitled to a widow’s or widower’s 8 insurance benefit that the individual did not re- 9 ceive pursuant to a request under section 10 202(z) that such benefit not be paid; 11 ‘‘(B) the individual had attained early retire- 12 ment age (as defined in section 216(l)(2)); and 13 ‘‘(C) the individual was not under a penalty im- 14 posed under section 1129A. 15 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), a determination 16 of the total number of increment months for an individual 17 shall be made each time the individual becomes entitled 18 or re-entitled to a widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit 19 or begins receiving such a benefit after a period during 20 which the individual did not receive the benefit pursuant 21 to a request under section 202(z) that such benefit not 22 be paid. 23 ‘‘(4) This subsection shall be applied to a widow’s or 24 widower’s insurance benefit before any reduction under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1772 IS this title except for the reduction under subparagraph (D) 1 of subsection (e)(2) or (f)(2) of section 202 (as applica- 2 ble). 3 ‘‘(5) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the applica- 4 ble percentage for an individual is a percentage equal to— 5 ‘‘(A) 28.5; divided by 6 ‘‘(B) the number of months between the month 7 in which the individual attains early retirement age 8 (as defined in section 216(l)(2)) and the month in 9 which the individual attains retirement age (as de- 10 fined in section 216(l)(1)). 11 ‘‘(6) In no case shall the amount of a widow or wid- 12 ower’s insurance benefit be increased under this sub- 13 section to an amount that exceeds the higher of— 14 ‘‘(A) the primary insurance amount of the de- 15 ceased individual on whose wages and self-employ- 16 ment income the widow’s or widower’s insurance 17 benefit is based; or 18 ‘‘(B) the amount of the old-age insurance ben- 19 efit to which such deceased individual would have 20 been entitled (after application of subsection (q) 21 and, where applicable, subsection (w)) for such 22 month if such individual were still living and section 23 215(f)(5), 215(f)(6), or 215(f)(9)(B) were applied, 24 where applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1772.IS S1772 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1772 IS ‘‘(7) An individual described in this section is an indi- 1 vidual who is entitled to a widow’s or widower’s insurance 2 benefit that is subject to reduction under subparagraph 3 (D) of subsection (e)(2) or (f)(2) of section 202 (as appli- 4 cable). 5 ‘‘Increase in Widow’s and Widower’s Insurance Benefit 6 Amounts on Account of Delayed Receipt of Benefit 7 ‘‘(bb)(1) Subject to paragraph (6), the amount of a 8 widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit (other than a ben- 9 efit based on a primary insurance amount determined 10 under section 215(a)(3) as in effect in December 1978 or 11 section 215(a)(1)(C)(i) as in effect thereafter) which is 12 payable without regard to this subsection to an individual 13 for a month shall be increased by— 14 ‘‘(A) the applicable percentage (as determined 15 for the individual under paragraph (5)) of such 16 amount, multiplied by 17 ‘‘(B) the number (if any) of the increment 18 months for such individual. 19 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subs [Text truncated for display. 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