Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act
Sponsored By: Representative Tokuda
Introduced
Summary
Would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on a new Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E). The bill would also phase in rules changing how pay above the contribution cap is counted for taxes and add a new “surplus earnings” piece to benefit calculations.
Show full summary
- Older beneficiaries would get COLAs tied to a CPI-E published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Any increases from that change would not count as income or resources for SSI or Medicaid recipients.
- The share of earnings above the Social Security taxable wage base that counts for payroll taxes would be phased down starting in 2026 and would reach 0% by 2032.
- People who first become eligible after 2025 would have the benefit formula changed to include “surplus earnings” and new bend points. The bill would allocate about 3% of surplus average indexed monthly earnings and sets a 2026 surplus base of $8,933 for the new calculation.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Lower Social Security tax on top wages
If enacted, only part of pay above the Social Security wage base would be taxed and credited. The share would drop by year: 2026 86%; 2027 71%; 2028 57%; 2029 43%; 2030 29%; 2031 14%; after 2031 0%. This would cut payroll tax on those extra wages now. It could also lower your future Social Security benefits because fewer earnings would count. It would apply to wages paid after 2025, and to self-employment tax years starting in or after 2026.
Extra Social Security credit for high earnings
If enacted, people first eligible after 2025 would get added benefit credit for pay above the wage base. The formula would give 3% of surplus AIME up to $8,933 in 2026 (indexed in later years). It would also add 0.25% on surplus AIME plus one‑twelfth of the base above that threshold. This could raise future monthly benefits for workers with high earnings.
Use senior inflation for Social Security COLAs
If enacted, the government would publish a monthly inflation index for older consumers (CPI‑E). Starting the year after enactment, publication would begin for months ending on or after July 31. Social Security COLAs would use this index for computation quarters ending on or after September 30 of the second year after enactment. If CPI‑E runs higher than today’s measure, checks could be larger. Any extra from this change would not count as income or resources for SSI or Medicaid.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tokuda
HI • D
Cosponsors
Pettersen
CO • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Tlaib
MI • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Magaziner
RI • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Cohen
TN • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Tonko
NY • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Pingree
ME • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 8/12/2025
Frankel, Lois
FL • D
Sponsored 8/19/2025
Escobar
TX • D
Sponsored 8/19/2025
Schakowsky
IL • D
Sponsored 8/26/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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