{"id":284683,"date":"2025-11-15T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/?p=284683"},"modified":"2025-11-15T07:00:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T12:00:27","slug":"social-security-bill-extra-1200-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/social-security-bill-extra-1200-dollars\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Recipients Could Get Extra $1,200 if a Bill Passes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A brand-new legislative proposal, recently introduced in Congress, could bring a ray of hope to dwindling retirement payments: the Social Security Expansion Act, which is supposed to inject an <strong>extra $200 a month into the pockets of millions of retirees, disabled people, and survivors<\/strong>, for six months.<\/p>\n<p>This would mean that, starting in <strong>January 2026,<\/strong> you could live for <strong>six months<\/strong> on a check that not only covers the basics but also provides real relief from inflation that erodes savings. This is a concrete initiative, championed by Senator Bernie Sanders and his progressive allies, that could redefine <strong>American Social Security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>The proposal to give $1,200 to Social Security beneficiaries<\/h2>\n<p>The law, known as S.770 in the Senate and <strong>H.R.1700<\/strong> in the House, goes beyond a simple increase. Starting next year, it would add<strong> $200 per month<\/strong>\u2014equivalent to <strong>$2,400 per year<\/strong>\u2014to current benefits, without affecting the already scheduled <strong>2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the <strong>70 million beneficiaries<\/strong> who depend on Social Security, this would provide a buffer against the high costs of healthcare, housing, and medication that have fueled inflation. The current average benefit is around $1,838 per month, an amount that for many barely covers rent and medicine, leaving little room for unexpected expenses.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, this program lifted<strong> 27.6 million people out of poverty<\/strong>, including 19.5 million seniors, reducing the poverty rate among those over 65 from nearly 50% in 1935 to the current 9.7%. However, 40% of retirees use it as their primary source of income, and for 14.3%, it represents more than 90% of their income.<\/p>\n<h2>What about the Social Security&#8217;s COLA 2026?<\/h2>\n<p>What makes this proposal so compelling is its ambition beyond an immediate check. It would change the formula of the<strong> CPI-W index&#8217;s COLA<\/strong>, which focuses on working households, to the <strong>CPI-E<\/strong>, designed to capture the real expenses of the elderly: those runaway increases in <strong>medical premiums<\/strong> and rent that the current index ignores.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, it would raise the minimum benefit to 125% of the poverty line \u2013 <strong>around $18,000 annually for those who have contributed for 30 years or more<\/strong> \u2013 especially benefiting low-wage earners and the disabled, where poverty still <strong>affects 25%.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And it doesn&#8217;t stop there: it would extend payments to <strong>children in school until age 22 if a parent is disabled or deceased<\/strong>, reversing a 1983 cut that left thousands without support for college or vocational training. All of this, by merging the retirement and disability trust funds into one for smoother management, <strong>would extend the program&#8217;s solvency until 2100<\/strong>, avoiding the projected 17 to 20% cuts by 2035.<\/p>\n<p>Financing is also contemplated: <strong>without touching the taxes of 91% of households<\/strong>, the law would raise the contribution cap \u2013 currently at $176,100 \u2013 <strong>for incomes above $250,000<\/strong>, forcing millionaires and CEOs to pay 12.4% on their entire salary.<\/p>\n<p>An executive earning <strong>$20 million annually<\/strong>, for example, who currently contributes the <strong>same as a middle-class worker<\/strong>, would see their tax burden <strong>align with<\/strong> <strong>reality.<\/strong> Combined with a new 12.4% tax on investment and business income for the ultra-wealthy\u2014raising the rate from 3.8% to 16.2%\u2014this would generate <strong>between $1 and $2 trillion over a decade<\/strong>, enough to cover expansions and ensure solvency.<\/p>\n<p>Amid this tug-of-war, the urgency is palpable. <strong>The 2025 Trustees Report<\/strong> warns of a potential exhaustion by 2033-2035, and as millennials and Gen Z age, <strong>injecting $168 billion annually into the economy<\/strong>\u2014boosting spending in healthcare and retail\u2014could be the perfect antidote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A brand-new legislative proposal, recently introduced in Congress, could bring a ray of hope to dwindling retirement payments: the Social Security Expansion Act, which is supposed to inject an extra &#8230; <a title=\"Social Security Recipients Could Get Extra $1,200 if a Bill Passes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/social-security-bill-extra-1200-dollars\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Social Security Recipients Could Get Extra $1,200 if a Bill Passes\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":284684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-284683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-social-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futbolete.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}