The Social Security 2100 Act is a series of legislative proposals, primarily championed by Rep. John Larson, designed to strengthen Social Security by increasing benefits, expanding eligibility, and extending the program's solvency, mainly by modifying the benefit formula, adopting a new cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) (CPI-E), raising the cap on taxable earnings, and eliminating provisions like the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). While specific versions change, the core idea is to ensure benefits keep pace with inflation, particularly for low-income workers, and to secure the trust funds well into the future.
Increases and Expands 12 Essential Benefits
taking time out of the workforce to care for children or other dependents. Ends the disability benefit cliff, replacing it with a gradual offset for earnings. into one fund to ensure seamless benefit payments.
The new Social Security Fairness Act (2025) makes eligible certain public servants—like teachers, firefighters, police, and federal workers (CSRS)—who had their benefits reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) due to pensions from work not covered by Social Security; it restores full, retroactive benefits for them and their spouses, impacting those with under 30 years of combined covered/non-covered work. Eligibility hinges on having your benefits reduced by WEP/GPO, not just being a public worker, affecting roughly 3 million people.
The extra $144 added to Social Security usually comes from the Medicare Part B Giveback benefit, offered by some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, which pays back some or all your Part B premium, showing up as extra money in your check if it's deducted from your Social Security. To qualify, you need Original Medicare (Parts A & B), pay your own Part B premium, live in a plan's service area, and enroll in a specific Medicare Advantage plan that offers this "rebate," with the amount varying by plan and location.
Yes, Social Security recipients received a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2025, but the bigger news is that they are getting a larger 2.8% COLA for 2026, announced in October 2025, which began with January 2026 payments, increasing average benefits by about $56 per month. The 2025 COLA was a smaller 2.5% increase, while the 2026 adjustment reflects moderating inflation, leading to higher payments starting in the new year.
Yes, you can get Social Security benefits even if you never worked, primarily through Spousal/Divorcee benefits, Survivor benefits, or the needs-based Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, none of which require a work history, though standard retirement/disability (SSDI) does. You can get up to 50% of a working spouse's benefit (spousal), or potentially 100% as a widow/widower (survivor). SSI provides aid for aged, blind, or disabled people with limited income/resources, regardless of work.
The $16,728 represents the maximum annual increase in Social Security benefits achievable through delayed retirement credits when you wait until age 70 to claim benefits.
Qualifying for the third stimulus check
If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you will automatically qualify for the third stimulus check which will be in the amount $1400.
Stimulus payments
Single taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 or below. Taxpayers filing as heads of household with AGIs of $112,500 or below. Married couples filing jointly with AGIs of $150,000 or below.
Visit the IRS Get My Payment (GMP) portal at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment to see if you can expect a 2021 Economic Impact Payment. The GMP portal will provide the date when your payment was or will be sent.
Congress recently passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), signed into law in January 2025, which eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), ending benefit reductions for public servants (like teachers, police, firefighters) who also earned Social Security, ensuring they get the full benefits they've earned from both covered and non-covered work. While this major bill was enacted in early 2025, Congress also works on other related legislation, like potential bills concerning tax treatment or benefit calculation methods, but the Fairness Act is the most significant recent law.
This increase is in line with previous projections for next year and long-term averages for the adjustment. The dollar amount increase to checks will vary depending on a person's benefit amount, but the average Social Security Retirement benefit, $2,008.31 in July 2025, will grow by about $56.
No, Social Security isn't sending out extra money for no reason, but some recipients get two checks in a single month due to calendar scheduling (like two SSI checks in December/January), while others (like teachers, firefighters) are getting one-time retroactive payments for past underpayments from the WEP/GPO law change, with monthly benefits increasing by 2.8% for 2026.
If Social Security isn't enough, you should supplement your income through other savings (401k, IRAs, brokerage accounts), explore government aid like SSI, SNAP, and Medicaid, consider working part-time, use programs like NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp to find assistance, potentially delay claiming benefits for a higher monthly payout, or look into annuities for guaranteed income.
So we can observe that for men, for example, almost 54% of the them could expect to live to age 65 if they survived to age 21, and men who attained age 65 could expect to collect Social Security benefits for almost 13 years (and the numbers are even higher for women).
A few times a year, recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) receive two payments in a month. But those double deposits aren't extra money. They're early payments for the following month.