Social Security Benefits Improvement Act of 1993

Summary: Social Security Benefits Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to:  (1) increase the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits; (2) increase survivors' benefits for those widows and widowers whose spouses died before they reached age 65; (3) repeal provisions which require that a widow or widower must have become disabled within seven years of their spouse's death or within seven years of the end of their eligibility for benefits as the surviving parent of a young child in order to be eligible for disability benefits; and (4) increase the OASDI contribution and benefit base beginning in 1994.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Benefits Improvement 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS IN EXEMPT AMOUNT FOR PURPOSES OF THE RETIREMENT 
              TEST.

    (a) Increase in Exempt Amount for Individuals Who Have Attained 
Retirement Age.--Section 203(f)(8)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 403(f)(8)(D)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(D)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
        subsection, the exempt amount which is applicable to an 
        individual who has attained retirement age (as defined in 
        section 216(1)) before the close of the taxable year involved 
        shall be--
                    ``(I) for the taxable year beginning after 1993 and 
                before 1995, $1,000.00,
                    ``(II) for the taxable year beginning after 1994 
                and before 1996, $1,166.66\2/3\,
                    ``(III) for the taxable year beginning after 1995 
                and before 1997, $1,333.33\1/3\,
                    ``(IV) for the taxable year beginning after 1996 
                and before 1998, $1,500.00, and
                    ``(V) for the taxable year beginning after 1997 and 
                before 1999, $1,666.66\2/3\.
            ``(ii) For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii)(II), the 
        increase in the exempt amount provided under clause (i)(V) 
        shall be deemed to have resulted from a determination which 
        shall be deemed to have been made under subparagraph (A) in 
        1997.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The second sentence of section 223(d)(4) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4)) is amended by striking ``the exempt 
amount under section 203(f)(8) which is applicable to individuals 
described in subparagraph (D) thereof'' and inserting the following: 
``an amount equal to the exempt amount which would have been applicable 
under section 203(f)(8), to individuals described in subparagraph (D) 
thereof, if section 2 of the Social Security Benefits Improvement Act 
of 1993 had not been enacted''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to taxable years beginning after 1993.

SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT IN RATE OF ACTUARIAL REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF WIDOW'S 
              AND WIDOWER'S INSURANCE BENEFITS SO AS TO REDUCE MAXIMUM 
              REDUCTIONS TO 25 PERCENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 202(q)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 402(q)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``\19/40\ of 1 
percent'' and inserting ``\5/12\ of 1 percent''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 202(q)(9) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(q)(9)) is 
        amended by striking ``28.5 percent'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``25.0 percent''.
            (2) Section 202(q)(10) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(q)(10)) 
        is amended by striking ``\19/40\ of 1 percent'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``\5/12\ of 1 percent''.
    (c) Effective Date and Transition Rule.--
            (1) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section 
        shall apply with respect to benefits for months after January 
        1994.
            (2) Transition rule.--Section 1634 of the Social Security 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 1383c) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new subsection:
    ``(e)(1) In the case of any eligible widow or widower (as defined 
in paragraph (2)) who is entitled to a widow's or widower's insurance 
benefit under section 202 (e) or (f) for any month but is not eligible 
for benefits under this title in that month--
            ``(A) such eligible widow or widower shall be deemed for 
        purposes of title XIX to be an individual with respect to whom 
        supplemental security income benefits are paid under this title 
        in that month, if he or she would be eligible for such benefits 
        in the month involved if the amount of the increase described 
        in paragraph (2)(B) in his or her widow's or widower's 
        insurance benefits (and any subsequent cost-of-living 
        adjustments in such benefits under section 215(i)) were 
        disregarded, and
            ``(B) such eligible widow or widower shall be deemed for 
        purposes of title XIX to be an individual with respect to whom 
        State supplementary payments, of the type referred to in 
        section 1616(a) of this Act or in section 212(a) of Public Law 
        93-66 which are paid by the Secretary under an agreement 
        referred to in such section 1616(a) or in section 212(b) of 
        Public Law 93-66, are paid in that month, if he or she would be 
        eligible for such payments in the month involved if the amount 
        of the increase described in paragraph (2)(B) in his or her 
        widow's or widower's insurance benefits (and any subsequent 
        cost-of-living adjustments in such benefits under section 
        215(i)) were disregarded.
    ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term `eligible widow or 
widower' means an individual--
            ``(A) who is entitled to a widow's or widower's insurance 
        benefit under section 202 (e) or (f) for January 1994 and with 
        respect to whom a benefit under this title was paid in that 
        month, and
            ``(B) who, because of the increase in the amount of his or 
        her widow's or widower's insurance benefits which results from 
        the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) of section 3 of 
        the Social Security Benefits Improvement Act of 1993, is not 
        eligible for benefits under this title in the first month in 
        which such increase is paid to him or her (and in which a 
        retroactive payment of such increase for prior months was not 
        made).
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `benefit under this 
title' means a supplemental security income benefit under this title, 
and a State supplementary payment of the type referred to in section 
1616(a) (or a payment of the type referred to in section 212(a) of 
Public Law 93-66) which is paid by the Secretary under an agreement 
referred to in section 1616(a) (or in section 212(b) of Public Law 93-
66).''.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF 7-YEAR RESTRICTION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR WIDOW'S AND 
              WIDOWER'S INSURANCE BENEFITS BASED ON DISABILITY.

    (a) Widow's Insurance Benefits.--
            (1) In general.--Section 202(e) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 402(e)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``which 
                began before the end of the period specified in 
                paragraph (4)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(ii), by striking ``(I) in 
                the period specified in paragraph (4) and (II)'';
                    (C) by striking paragraph (4) and by redesignating 
                paragraphs (5) through (9) as paragraphs (4) through 
                (8), respectively; and
                    (D) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii) (as redesignated), by 
                striking ``whichever'' and all that follows through 
                ``begins'' and inserting ``the first day of the 
                seventeenth month before the month in which her 
                application is filed''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 202(e)(1)(F)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(e)(1)(F)(i)) is amended by striking ``paragraph 
                (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (4)''.
                    (B) Section 202(e)(1)(C)(ii)(III) of such Act (42 
                U.S.C. 402(e)(2)(C)(ii)(III)) is amended by striking 
                ``paragraph (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (7)''.
                    (C) Section 202(e)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(e)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``paragraph (7)'' 
                and inserting ``paragraph (6)''.
                    (D) Section 226(e)(1)(A)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                426(e)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ``202(e)(4)''.
    (b) Widower's Insurance Benefits.--
            (1) In general.--Section 202(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        402(f)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``which 
                began before the end of the period specified in 
                paragraph (5)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(ii), by striking ``(I) in 
                the period specified in paragraph (5) and (II)'';
                    (C) by striking paragraph (5) and by redesignating 
                paragraphs (6) through (9) as paragraphs (5) through 
                (8), respectively; and
                    (D) in paragraph (5)(A)(ii) (as redesignated), by 
                striking ``whichever'' and all that follows through 
                ``begins'' and inserting ``the first day of the 
                seventeenth month before the month in which his 
                application is filed''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 202(f)(1)(F)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(f)(1)(F)(i)) is amended by striking ``paragraph 
                (6)'' and inserting ``paragraph (5)''.
                    (B) Section 202(f)(1)(C)(ii)(III) of such Act (42 
                U.S.C. 402(f)(2)(C)(ii)(III)) is amended by striking 
                ``paragraph (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (7)''.
                    (C) Section 226(e)(1)(A)(i) of such Act (as amended 
                by subsection (a)(2)) is further amended by striking 
                ``, 202(f)(1)(B)(2), and 202(f)(5)'' and inserting 
                ``and 202(f)(1)(B)(2)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to benefits for months after August 1993 for which 
applications are filed or pending on or after September 1, 1993.

SEC. 5. INCREASE IN OASDI CONTRIBUTION AND BENEFIT BASE.

    Section 230(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 430(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``and'' before 
        ``(2)'', by striking the period at the end of subclause (D) of 
        clause (2) and inserting a comma, and by adding at the end, 
        after and below such subclause (D), the following:
``and (3) the `contribution and benefit base' with respect to 
remuneration paid (and taxable years beginning) in 1994 shall be the 
contribution and benefit base which would be determined under this 
section with respect to remuneration paid (and taxable years beginning) 
in such year if section 5 of the Social Security Benefits Improvement 
Act of 1993 had not been enacted, plus $2,100.00.'';
            (2) in the last sentence, by striking ``in 1982 and 
        subsequent years'' and inserting ``in years beginning after 
        1981 and ending before 1994''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``For 
        purposes of determining under subsection (b) the `contribution 
        and benefit base' with respect to remuneration paid (and 
        taxable years beginning) in 1995 and subsequent years, the 
        contribution and benefit base determined under clause (3) of 
        the first sentence of this subsection shall be considered to 
        have resulted from the application of such subsection (b) and 
        to be the contribution and benefit base determined (with 
        respect to 1994) under that subsection.''.