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Retirement Security for American Hostages Act of 2025
3/13/2025, 5:21 PM
Summary of Bill S 657
The bill seeks to address the financial hardships faced by individuals who have been subjected to such traumatic experiences by ensuring that they are able to receive the retirement benefits they are entitled to under the Social Security Act.
If passed, the bill would require the Social Security Administration to establish a process for identifying and verifying individuals who have been unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and to ensure that they receive the appropriate retirement benefits. Overall, the goal of Bill 119 s 657 is to provide a measure of financial security and support to those who have endured such harrowing experiences, and to ensure that they are able to retire with dignity and peace of mind.
Congressional Summary of S 657
Retirement Security for American Hostages Act of 2025
This bill permits individuals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad to collect Social Security benefits based on average national wages for months in which they were held hostage or detained.
Specifically, for purposes of determining Social Security benefits based on an individual’s wages or self-employment income, the bill directs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to deem qualifying individuals to have been paid a monthly portion of the national average wage index for any month during which the individual was held hostage or unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad. (The national average wage index is determined annually by the SSA.) Deemed wages must apply for any affected month before the individual reaches the statutory retirement age (generally between ages 65 and 67).
A qualifying individual is a U.S. national (1) determined by the Department of State to have been unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad, or (2) determined by the interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell to have been taken hostage abroad.
A qualifying individual or an individual entitled to benefits on the basis of a qualifying individual’s wages and income must apply to the SSA in order to receive deemed wages for affected months. These provisions do not apply if a larger benefit would be available without the application of deemed wages.
