Title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for full benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age.
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
This bill provides for full Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits, without regard to age, for disabled individuals who are widowed. In addition, the bill exempts disabled individuals who are widowed from certain reductions in OASDI benefits and otherwise revises provisions related to such reductions.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4122 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4122

   To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for full 
    benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2019

  Mrs. Lowey (for herself and Mr. Schneider) 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 for full 
    benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FULL BENEFITS FOR DISABLED WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS WITHOUT 
              REGARD TO AGE.

    (a) Eligibility for Widow's Insurance Benefits.--Section 202(e) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``has attained age 
        50 but has not attained age 60 and'';
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``after attaining age 
        50 if she was entitled before such marriage occurred'' and 
        inserting ``after having been entitled''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ``after attaining age 
        50''.
    (b) Eligibility for Widower's Insurance Benefits.--Section 202(f) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``has attained age 
        50 but has not attained age 60 and'';
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``after attaining age 
        50 if he was entitled before such marriage occurred'' and 
        inserting ``after having been entitled''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ``after attaining age 
        50''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM REDUCTIONS IN BENEFITS.

    Section 202(q) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(q)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``age 50'' and 
        inserting ``age 60''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, there 
shall be no reduction under this subsection in the widow's or widower's 
insurance benefit of an individual for any month in which such 
individual is under a disability (as defined in section 223(d)); and 
none of the provisions of this subsection shall apply with respect to 
such benefit even though such benefit may have been so reduced prior to 
the onset of such disability.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND REDETERMINATION OF BENEFITS.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to monthly 
insurance benefits payable under title II of the Social Security Act 
for months after the month in which this Act is enacted. The 
Commissioner of Social Security (without the necessity of any 
application therefor) shall redetermine the amount of any widow's or 
widower's insurance benefit which is payable for the month in which 
this Act is enacted in order to reflect such amendments as provided in 
the preceding sentence.
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