Legislation Reintroduced to Help Americans Better Plan for Retirement

U.S. Senators Chris Coons, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Susan Collins of Maine reintroduced legislation to enhance Americans’ retirement security by ensuring they have the information they need to make more informed decisions about when to begin claiming Social Security benefits. Senator Coons says Social Security is the foundation of most older Americans’ retirement plans, but many of them don’t have the information they need to maximize the social security benefits that they’ve earned. The legislation aims to improve retirement planning by requiring the Social Security Administration to mail benefit statements to account holders: every five years for those aged 25–54, every two years for those 55–59, and annually for individuals 60 and older.’

Additional Information:

One of the key financial decisions facing older Americans is when to claim Social Security retirement benefits. Social Security benefits are available to Americans who are as young as age 62, but those who choose to claim their benefits later receive higher monthly payments, with maximum benefits available to those who claim at age 70 or older. Most people do not claim benefits at the age that would maximize their income in retirement. By doing so, they forgo a significant amount of retirement income. To provide additional clarity for Americans deciding when to claim their benefits, this legislation changes the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) terminology from “early eligibility age,” “full retirement age,” and “delayed retirement credits” to “minimum monthly benefit age,” “standard monthly benefit age,” and “maximum monthly benefit age” to better reflect how the program works.

The legislation would also help Americans better plan for retirement by requiring the SSA to mail Social Security statements about how much a person has paid into Social Security and Medicare every five years to individuals with Social Security accounts between the ages of 25 and 54, every two years for those between the ages of 55 and 59, and annually for those 60 and above.

You can read the bill text on nomenclature here. You can read the bill text on regular statements for beneficiaries here.