Press Releases

Reps. Don Beyer (VA-08) and Lloyd Smucker (PA-11) announced that their bipartisan Claiming Age Clarity Act, H.R. 5284, has passed the Senate and is headed to the President’s desk for signature.

The lawmakers introduced the legislation to help Americans better understand how the timing of their decision to claim Social Security affects their monthly retirement benefit. The bill previously passed the House of Representatives.

“Passage of this bill is a victory for seniors and older workers, who will now be able to make more informed decisions about their retirement benefits,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “The need for clarity on these issues gets more salient every year as Americans live longer and financial choices become more complex. I thank Rep. Smucker for his leadership on this legislation, and all those who supported the Claiming Age Clarity Act.”

“Americans who have worked their entire lives and earned Social Security benefits deserve clear, straightforward information as they make important decisions about their retirement,” said Rep. Lloyd Smucker. “The Claiming Age Clarity Act replaces confusing government terminology with language that better explains how the age at which someone claims Social Security affects their monthly benefit. I’m grateful that Republicans and Democrats came together to advance this commonsense reform, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.”

The Claiming Age Clarity Act would modernize terminology used by the Social Security Administration to better reflect how claiming age affects an individual’s monthly benefit:

• “Early Eligibility Age” would become “Minimum Benefit Age” — age 62, the earliest age at which an individual can begin receiving retirement benefits, with permanently lower monthly benefits than those received at standard benefit age.
• “Full Retirement Age” and “Normal Retirement Age” would become “Standard Benefit Age” — generally age 66 or 67, depending on an individual’s birth year.
• “Delayed Retirement Age” would become “Maximum Benefit Age” — age 70, the latest age someone can begin receiving benefits. Electing to delay receiving benefits by a year increases an individual's benefits, up to a maximum of 24% more than the standard benefit.

The bipartisan legislation is supported by AARP, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, and AMAC Action.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.