Research and Analysis by Don Hoffmeyer
Social Security's Special Minimum Benefit
from Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 64 No. 2 (released September 2002)
Some Social Security reform proposals, such as two of the three offered by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, would modify and strengthen Social Security's special minimum benefit provision, which is intended to enhance benefits for low earners and is phasing out under current law. In order to inform policymakers as they continue to deliberate the provision's future, this article presents the most recent and comprehensive history and analysis available about the special minimum benefit.
