To require the Social Security Administration to make changes to the social security terminology used in the rules, regulation, guidance, or other materials of the Administration.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. Cline, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Moore of Utah, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Bean of Florida, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Claiming Age Clarity Act requires the Social Security Administration to replace confusing retirement terminology with clearer language in all official materials by the later of January 1, 2027 or 12 months after the bill becomes law. The goal is to help Americans better understand their Social Security retirement options by eliminating jargon and using more straightforward terms.
Who Benefits and How
Social Security beneficiaries and near-retirees benefit from clearer communication about when they can claim benefits and how their monthly payments vary by age. Instead of technical terms like "full retirement age" and "delayed retirement credit," they will see simpler phrases like "standard monthly benefit age" and "maximum monthly benefit age." This makes it easier for people to understand the financial trade-offs of claiming Social Security at different ages. Government printing and publishing contractors may also see some revenue from contracts to update SSA materials, though this would be a modest, one-time benefit.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Social Security Administration faces compliance costs to update all rules, regulations, guidance documents, and public-facing materials - both online and in print - to reflect the new terminology. This involves reviewing thousands of documents, updating website content, reprinting brochures, and retraining staff. The deadline gives SSA at least 12 months to complete this work, but it still represents a significant administrative burden with associated costs.
Key Provisions
- Replaces "early eligibility age" with "minimum monthly benefit age"
- Replaces "full retirement age" and "normal retirement age" with "standard monthly benefit age"
- Eliminates the term "delayed retirement credit" and replaces references to "age 70 as the maximum age for delayed credits" with "maximum monthly benefit age"
- Applies to all SSA rules, regulations, guidance, and materials, whether online or in print
- Deadline is the later of January 1, 2027 or 12 months after enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires the Social Security Administration to replace confusing retirement age terminology with clearer terms in all official materials by January 1, 2027
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Improve public understanding of Social Security benefits by replacing technical jargon with clearer language"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Social Security beneficiaries seeking to understand retirement options
- Seniors navigating retirement planning
Likely Burden Bearers
- Social Security Administration (compliance costs for updating materials)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Social Security
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Three specific terminology changes: (1) early eligibility age → minimum monthly benefit age, (2) full/normal retirement age → standard monthly benefit age, (3) delayed retirement credit removed, age 70 → maximum monthly benefit age
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology