SWIFT Act

Bill Number

S. 3255

Origin Chamber

Senate

Congress

119th Congress, Session 1

Policy Area

Social Welfare

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2025-11-20: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Last Updated

2025-12-19T16:26:11Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose This legislation, known as the Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment Act of 2025 or SWIFT Act, amends Title II of the Social Security Act to expand and enhance survivors insurance benefits for certain widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses, particularly those with disabilities. It also adjusts related child-in-care benefits and introduces mechanisms to increase benefits for delayed claims while protecting eligibility for other assistance programs.

Key Provisions

• Section 2: Allows disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to receive unreduced survivors benefits at any age by removing the prior 50–60 age window and associated restrictions. It eliminates benefit reductions for these individuals when claiming before retirement age and includes conforming changes to related statutes.
• Section 3: Raises the age limit for child-in-care benefits from 16 to 18 (or 19 for full-time elementary or secondary students).
• Section 4: Modifies benefit limits and adds two new subsections permitting increases to widows’ and widowers’ benefits based on months of delayed claiming after early retirement age or full retirement age, with caps tied to the deceased spouse’s primary insurance amount. It also updates rules for voluntary suspension of benefits.
• Section 5: Disregards additional Social Security income from these changes when determining eligibility for other federal, state, or local programs financed with federal funds.
• Section 6: Requires the Social Security Administration to create and distribute an informational booklet on survivors benefits, including interactions with old-age benefits, claiming timing, lump-sum death benefits, and contact information. The booklet must be mailed to known survivors after a death occurring on or after January 1, 2027.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Removes age-based eligibility barriers and reduction rules that previously limited full benefits for disabled survivors.
• Extends child-in-care benefit coverage by two to three years.
• Introduces delayed-claiming credits for survivors benefits, modeled on existing old-age benefit incentives but with specific caps.
• Adds protections against income increases affecting other means-tested programs.

All changes take effect January 1, 2027, and apply to benefits determined or payable on or after that date.

Potential Impacts

• Government Agencies: The Social Security Administration must update eligibility systems, recalculate benefits, and produce and mail informational materials, increasing administrative workload starting in 2027.
• Citizens: Disabled survivors and families with older children may receive higher monthly benefits; current recipients of other federal or state assistance are shielded from losing eligibility due to the increases.
• International Relations: No direct effects identified.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses.
• Families receiving child-in-care benefits.
• The Social Security Administration.
• Federal, state, and local agencies administering programs that consider Social Security income for eligibility determinations.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications The bill operates within Congress’s authority to modify Social Security benefit rules and does not alter constitutional structures or raise apparent legal conflicts. It focuses on administrative and eligibility adjustments without creating new entitlements or regulatory frameworks.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

Cosponsors (4)

Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY], Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN], Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA], Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]

Recent Actions

• 2025-11-20: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
• 2025-11-20: Introduced in Senate

Bill Versions

• Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment Act of 2025 — issued 2025-11-20 — PDF (18 pages)