Washington, July 17 -- Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon issued the following press release:
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today introduced the Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment (SWIFT) Act, legislation that would update arbitrary restrictions on benefits for widow(er)s and surviving divorced spouses, and increase Social Security benefits for more than one million Americans. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Senate companion bill.
Under current law, widow(er)s who develop a disability after their spouse dies are not allowed to claim survivor benefits until they reach the age of 50, and the value of these benefits is severely reduced if they claim them before reaching full retirement age. More...