Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) – cofounder of the Defend Social Security Caucus, later the Expand Social Security Caucus – has signed on as a cosponsor of Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, legislation to increase Social Security benefits and strengthen the program. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“Seniors have earned the dignity of Social Security benefits in their golden years by paying into the system over a lifetime of hard work,” said Whitehouse. “Our bill would increase those benefits and make sure they continue to rise in step with the actual inflation seniors face, all while protecting the promise of Social Security for future beneficiaries.”
The Social Security 2100 Act would:
- Provide an across-the-board $30/month benefit increase for current and new beneficiaries;
- Improve the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to take into account the true costs incurred by seniors;
- Set a stronger minimum benefit at 25 percent above the poverty line, so someone who works their whole life does not retire into poverty;
- Provide a tax cut for over twelve million Social Security recipients by eliminating the tax on their benefits;
- Repeal provisions that currently penalize many public servants; and
- End the five-month waiting period to receive disability benefits.
The legislation would be fully paid for by applying the payroll tax to wages above $400,000. Currently, payroll taxes are not collected on wages over $142,800.
Social Security is the most important source of retirement income for 4 out of 5 seniors. The program also provides protections to workers with disabilities and families who have lost a breadwinner. More than 230,000 Rhode Islanders are Social Security beneficiaries.
The bill has been endorsed by the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans and the Rhode Island Governor’s Commission on Disabilities.
Whitehouse co-founded the Defend Social Security Caucus in 2011. It was renamed the Expand Social Security Caucus in 2018, and now counts nineteen Senators as members.
Meaghan McCabe, (401) 453-5294
