I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5295 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide annual minimum 
and maximum cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2016 
Mr. HECK of Nevada (for himself and Mr. NOLAN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide 
annual minimum and maximum cost-of-living increases 
for Social Security beneficiaries, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Eco-
nomic Needs Important to Our Retirees through Creating 
an Ongoing Living Adjustment Guarantee (SENIOR 
COLA Guarantee) Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Monthly Social Security benefits for retired 
and disabled workers and their families provide crit-
ical income and security. 
(2) These benefits are generally increased annu-
ally by a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that is 
based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI–W). 
(3) Since 1975 and until last year, a COLA has 
been paid in every year except 2010 and 2011. 
(4) In 2015, the Social Security Administration 
announced that due to average inflation as measured 
by the CPI–W, there would be no COLA for seniors 
and beneficiaries in 2016. 
(5) American seniors, disabled workers, and 
their families rely on their Social Security benefits 
and yearly COLA increases to help maintain finan-
cial security. 
(6) Congress should provide certainty by guar-
anteeing annual COLA increases for Social Security 
beneficiaries that will help keep these beneficiaries 
out of poverty, and provide financial security. 
(7) Congress has the power to enact a one-time 
COLA increase in the event that inflation in a given 
year exceeds the percentages defined in the amend-
ments made by this Act. 
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‘‘(bb) in the case of such an individual whose 
adjusted gross income for the preceding calendar 
year exceeded $18,000 but did not exceed $48,000 
(or, in the case of a joint return, $20,000 and 
$50,000, respectively), be less than 1.5 percent or 
greater than 3 percent; or 
‘‘(cc) in the case of such an individual whose 
adjusted gross income for the preceding calendar 
year exceeded $48,000 (or, in the case of a joint re-
turn, $50,000), be less than 1 percent or greater 
than 2 percent. 
‘‘(II) In this clause— 
‘‘(aa) the term ‘adjusted gross income’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 62 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986; and 
‘‘(bb) the term ‘joint return’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 6103 of such Code. 
‘‘(III) Not later than the end of the 5-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this clause, and 
at the end of each subsequent 5-year period, the Commis-
sioner of Social Security shall submit to Congress rec-
ommended changes to any of the dollar amounts in sub-
clause (I) as the Commissioner considers appropriate 
based on relevant factors.’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to cost-of-living com-
putation quarters occurring in calendar years after 2015. 
Æ 
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