releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/strengthening-social-security-benefits-for-surviving-spouses-goal-of-mccaskill-backed-plan
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/strengthening-social-security-benefits-for-surviving-spouses-goal-of-mccaskill-backed-plan | Strengthening Social Security Benefits for Surviving Spouses Goal of McCaskill-Backed Plan | 2018-09-20 | 2018 | 2018-09 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | Strengthening Social Security Benefits for Surviving Spouses Goal of McCaskill-Backed Plan Senator backs plan to end unfair restrictions on Social Security benefits for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses Thursday, September 20, 2018 WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is backing an effort to strengthen Social Security benefits for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses by ending arbitrary restrictions that limit benefits to those that often needthem the mostwhich would lead to more than one million Americans receiving increased benefits. Social Security is founded on the principle that we take care of the most vulnerable in our society, but what we're seeing is that far too often when a loved one passes away, their surviving spouse is being forgotten and left behind, McCaskill said. It's unacceptable that widows caring for children and those with disabilities face the highest poverty rates among all Social Security recipientsand this bill would help this vulnerable population. Currently, poverty rates among widows and widowers caring for children and widows and widowers with disabilities are among the highest of all Social Security recipients, and the poverty rate of widows and widowers receiving Social Security benefits is nearly twice as high as that of retired workers. The McCaskill-backed legislation would end certain arbitrary benefit provisions, allowing widows and widowers, as well as surviving divorced spouses to: receive 100% of the survivor benefits they are entitled to regardless of age; increase the value of their survivor benefits beyond current arbitrary caps; receive child in-care benefits until children are age 18 or 19; and receive more information from the federal government about the benefits for which they are eligible. Protecting Social Security benefits and advocating for the program's recipients have been top priorities for McCaskill throughout her tenure in the Senate. McCaskill isbacking a proposalto address the challenges facing women as they plan for retirement, including expanding pension protections for spouses and creating financial literacy programs.McCaskillalsosupported a changethat would modify the cost of living adjustment used to determine the annual increase in Social Security benefits to better reflect the expenses seniors face, including out-of-pocket medical expenses, and last month, introducedlegislationto prevent seniors from being pushed into poverty due to garnishments on Social Security benefits from student loan debts. Additionally, McCaskill backed the bipartisanSocial Security Fairness Actthat would repeal provisions in law that reduce Social Security payouts for individuals who paid into Social Security, yet are also eligible for pension benefits from public sector jobs outside the Social Security system. Visitmccaskill.senate.gov/seniorsto learn more about McCaskill's work for Missouri's seniors. ### Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |