Social Security Financing Amendments of 1979

Social Security Financing Amendments of 1979 - Title I: Provisions to Improve the Financing of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the rate of tax established by the Social Security Financing Amendments of 1977 on wages received by the employees and paid by employers, and on the earnings of the self employed, for the purposes of title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Maintains at the level established by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 the rate of tax on employment and self employment income for purposes of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Increases, to specified levels, the allocations of wages and self-employment income from the Treasury to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Amends title II to repeal the increases for 1980 and 1981 enacted by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 in the contribution and benefit base from which the social security taxes of an individual are taken. Establishes measures to maintain balances in the Federal Old-Age and Survivor Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund sufficient to make the payments required of such funds by means by loans between such funds. Title II: Improvement of Long-Range Financing Through a Gradual Increase in Retirement Age - Increases, from 65 to 68 years, the retirement age at which an individual may receive old-age, wife's, husband's, widow's or widower's insurance benefits without a reduction because such individual became eligible for such benefits before reaching retirement age. Sets forth a schedule for such increase in steps to occur between December, 1999 and March, 2011. Title III: Working Spouse's Benefit and Elimination of Gender-Based Distinctions Under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program - Establishes a "working spouse's benefit" under title II. Provides that any individual who receives both old-age benefits or a disability insurance benefit and wife's, husband's, widow's, widower's, or mother's insurance benefits shall be entitled to such working spouse benefit. States that such benefit shall be a percentage of the smaller of the two benefits to which the recipient was entitled. Limits the receipt of such benefits to one member of a married couple when both members are eligible. Amends title II to eliminate gender-based distinctions in awarding benefits under such title. Equalizes treatment of fathers, husbands, divorced husbands, surviving divorced husbands, and widowers with the treatment of their female counterparts under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program. Eliminates the marriage or remarriage of a benefit recipient as a factor in terminating or reducing benefits. Title IV: Coverage of Federal Employees Under the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program - Amends title II of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to include Federal employees within the coverage of the Social Security system. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in consultation with the Civil Service Commission to carry out a detailed study of how best to coordinate the benefits of the civil service retirement system and the benefits of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance system, with the objective of developing for Federal employees a combined program of retirement, disability, and related benefits which will assure that such employers are no worse off, comparing their benefits under the combined program with the benefits they would receive under the Federal staff retirement systems at the time of their coverage under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance system pursuant to the amendments made by this Act. Directs the Secretary to carry out a study of how best to coordinate the Medicare program and the program established by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act, with the objective of developing for Federal employees a combined program of health insurance benefits to accompany the retirement and disability program developed by this Act. Title V: Liberalization and Eventual Repeal of Earnings Limitation for Individuals Age 65 and Over - Increases the minimum amount which an individual may earn before suffering a loss or reduction of benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program to $625 for each month of the taxable year ending after 1980 and before 1982. Removes the earnings limitation for taxable years beginning after January 1, 1982.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 6, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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