S 657119th CongressIn Committee

Retirement Security for American Hostages Act of 2025

Introduced: Feb 20, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Retirement Security for American Hostages Act of 2025 would create a new provision in the Social Security Act to extend “deemed wages” for U.S. nationals who were unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad. For qualifying months (months during which the individual was detained or held hostage, up until retirement age), the Social Security Administration would treat the person as having earned a fixed monthly amount equal to 1/12 of the national average wage index for the second prior year. This deemed wage would be used to determine monthly Social Security benefits (retirement or disability) and any related lump-sum death payments, with an exception if applying the deemed wage would reduce a larger benefit otherwise payable. Eligibility hinges on determinations made under specific hostage-detention framework statutes (Levinson Act and Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell findings). The bill also requires SSA to issue regulations within a year, and the new rules would take effect 24 months after enactment, with a conforming amendment to an existing wage reference in law. In short, if enacted, the bill would provide a concrete, government-determined method to improve Social Security retirement security for individuals who were unlawfully detained or held hostage abroad, even for months during their detention, once the program is in effect.

Key Points

1New section added to the Social Security Act: Sec. 235, providing deemed wages for hostages and individuals wrongfully detained abroad.
2Qualifying month and qualifying individual definitions:
3- Qualifying month: any month beginning before, on, or after enactment during which the person was unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad, but not months ending after retirement age.
4- Qualifying individual: a U.S. national unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or taken hostage abroad, as determined by specified official processes (Levinson Act findings or Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell findings).
5Deemed wages formula: for each qualifying month, the individual is treated as having earned a monthly amount equal to 1/12 of the national average wage index for the second calendar year before that month.
6Benefit impact: the deemed wages affect entitlement to and the amount of monthly Social Security benefits (retirement, disability) and any lump-sum death payment, subject to an exception if the larger benefit would be payable without the deemed-wage rule.
7Application and certification: SSA must establish procedures within 1 year, including requiring documentation from federal agencies confirming the qualifying status and period of detention, plus other information as SSA may require.
8Conforming amendment: Adds 235(b)(1) to the list of wage components considered under existing 209(k)(1) framework.
9Effective date: The amendments take effect 24 months after enactment.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- United States nationals who were unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad and their Social Security benefits (retirement and survival-related payments, including lump-sum death benefits).Secondary group/area affected- Current and future Social Security beneficiaries and the Social Security program itself (administrative workload for SSA, potential changes in benefit calculations).Additional impacts- Administrative requirements and potential costs to SSA to implement regulations and manage documentation/certification processes.- Interaction with federal hostage-detention determinations (Levinson Act and Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell findings), including potential privacy and data-sharing considerations.- Possible fiscal implications for the Social Security program, since deemed wages could increase benefits for affected individuals, though the bill does not include a specific funding offset.- Broader policy signal regarding support for victims of hostage-taking and detentions abroad and the use of Social Security as a vehicle to address retirement security for those individuals and their families.The term “United States national” and the determinations under the Levinson Act and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell are specific legal references that anchor who can qualify.The deemed-wage approach does not automatically provide a higher benefit if a larger benefit would be payable anyway; the bill preserves the existing higher benefit if applicable.The 24-month delayed effective date gives SSA time to implement the new process and collect necessary documentation.

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