Claiming Age Clarity Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am announcing my intention to object to any unanimous consent request to proceed to H.R. 5284, the Claiming Age Clarity Act.

I support my colleagues' efforts to simplify the language the Social Security Administration, SSA, uses related to claiming retirement benefits. However, I am concerned that the bill's lack of administrative funding to implement the legislation would harm the Agency's ability to serve the American public.

According to SSA estimates in September 2025, implementing this bill would cost between $8 and $12 million and require significant manpower to update its rules, regulations, guidance, and other materials-- including benefit statements--both printed and online versions.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Social Security's customer service budget has dropped by 23 percent since fiscal year 2010 after adjusting for inflation. Over the same period, SSA is serving 17 million more Social Security beneficiaries, a 28- percent increase. Moreover, since February 2025, SSA reduced staff by nearly 6,000 employees through encouraging retirements and voluntary resignations, including 2,000 from frontline positions. In August 2025, SSA diverted 2,000 field office staff away from serving customers in the front office to answer national 800 number calls indefinitely. Field offices, which bore the brunt of those staffing cuts, are now forced to backfill the staffing shortages with other employees at the expense of timely processing benefit claims and assisting seniors who come into the field offices. Simply put, SSA is having to do more with less resources and fewer staff.

As my colleagues know, annual statements are an effective communication strategy to educate individuals about their earnings and payroll tax records, estimate of earned monthly benefits, and other information designed to help them more effectively plan for retirement. To this end, SSA has worked diligently over the last several years to streamline and modernize the Social Security annual statements to increase the public's understanding of its programs. However, SSA's funding constraints already limit SSA's ability to educate Americans about their Social Security benefits. Section 1143 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1320b-13, SSA is required to mail Social Security annual statements to most workers aged 25 and older who are not currently receiving Social Security benefits. Yet, due to budgetary constraints, SSA has suspended mailing statements to those individuals since 2011.

Enacting this legislation without providing SSA with the necessary resources to implement and effectively communicate this change, including mailing annual statements, would stymie the bill's effects. Similarly, changing terminology--even to make it clearer--would presumably create confusion among some, resulting in increased call volume and foot traffic in the field offices and on the national 1-800 number.

I am committed to working with the sponsors of the legislation and our colleagues on the Committee on Appropriations to ensure that SSA has the necessary resources to effectively implement the bill while improving customer service for the millions of Americans who rely on Social Security. Until then, I will object to any unanimous consent request in relation to this legislation.

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