A House bill introduced last November would put into law a guarantee that Social Security pays beneficiaries their full benefit amount along with an accurate annual cost-of-living increase. The measure comes from a small group of House Republicans and has sat in the Ways and Means Committee since it was filed, with no hearing or vote scheduled. It remains a proposal, not a change to how benefits or the annual raise are currently calculated.
How the Annual COLA Works Today
Under existing law, the Social Security Act ties each year’s cost-of-living adjustment to the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the Social Security Administration’s own announcement of the 2026 COLA. That formula produced a 2.8% increase for 2026, raising the average retirement benefit by about $56 a month, after a 2.5% increase in 2025; the SSA notes the adjustment has averaged about 3.1% over the past decade. Other Social Security figures move with wage growth rather than the COLA formula: the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax rose to $184,500 for 2026, up from $176,100, the same announcement says. The COLA calculation is automatic and does not currently require any action by Congress each year — the debate H.R.6079 wades into is whether that existing formula, and the benefit payments it produces, need a statutory guarantee behind them.
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What the Social Security Guarantee Act Would Do
H.R.6079, the Social Security Guarantee Act of 2025, would guarantee the right of individuals to receive their Social Security benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act “in full with an accurate annual cost-of-living adjustment,” according to the bill’s official summary tracked by LegiScan from Congress.gov data. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who introduced the bill, said in his own announcement of the legislation that “it is important that folks have assurances that they will get their Social Security benefits that they have paid into their whole lives.” The bill’s text, as summarized, does not alter the CPI-W-based COLA formula itself; it is framed as a statutory assurance that scheduled benefits and adjustments will actually be paid as calculated.
A Republican-Only Bill Referred to Ways and Means
Burchett introduced H.R.6079 with four cosponsors — Reps. Doug LaMalfa of California, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Anna Luna of Florida and Tony Wied of Wisconsin — all Republicans, according to LegiScan’s sponsor listing. No Democratic member has signed on. The House referred the bill to the Ways and Means Committee on November 18, 2025, the same day it was introduced, and it has not been the subject of any further committee action since. LegiScan’s subject tagging for the bill lists it under “Social welfare” rather than the “Taxation” tag applied to related Social Security bills, reflecting that H.R.6079 is framed as a benefit-payment guarantee rather than a tax measure.
What Comes Next for a Bill Stuck at Introduction
LegiScan places H.R.6079 at roughly 25% progression, the stage that covers introduction and committee referral — the earliest formal step in the legislative process and one that the large majority of bills never move beyond. No hearing date, markup or committee vote has been scheduled in the ten months since referral. For the guarantee it proposes to take effect, Ways and Means would need to act on the bill, the full House would need to pass it, the Senate would need to pass its own version, and a president would need to sign it. Until then, Social Security benefits and the annual COLA continue to be paid under the existing statutory formula the SSA already administers.
Why “Guarantee” Is the Word Sponsors Chose
The choice of the word “guarantee” tracks a separate, ongoing debate over the program’s finances. The Social Security Administration’s own trustees reported in June 2026 that the trust fund paying retirement and survivor benefits is projected to become depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, at which point continuing income would cover only 78% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts before then, according to the agency’s June 9, 2026 announcement of that report. A statutory guarantee like the one H.R.6079 proposes would not by itself change that funding math or add money to the trust fund; it would instead put in law the promise that benefits and the annual COLA are paid in full, a promise sponsors argue current law does not adequately protect once the fund’s projected shortfall arrives. Nothing in the bill’s summary proposes new revenue for the trust funds, a change to the payroll tax, or a change to the CPI-W formula that sets the COLA percentage each year — the bill is narrower than that, a statement in statute that whatever benefit and COLA the existing formula produces must actually be paid, leaving the harder, separate question of closing the trust funds’ long-term funding gap for other legislation to address.
What Else Goes Unfiled
A guarantee on the base Social Security benefit, if it ever became law, would still leave separate assistance programs exactly as they are today: available, but only to people who apply. Extra Help lowers Medicare Part D drug costs for retirees with limited income, and Supplemental Security Income can add a monthly payment on top of Social Security for people 65 and older who qualify — neither one arrives automatically alongside a Social Security check.
The Benefits Checklist covers Extra Help and SSI after 65 among eleven programs total, with the 2026 income limits included for each.
Look up eligibility for these add-on programs in The Benefits Checklist.
AI tools assisted in researching and drafting this article, which was reviewed prior to publication.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
