PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 18, 2018
Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment Act of 2018 or the SWIFT Act
This bill modifies eligibility requirements and increases benefits for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits program.
The bill makes widow and widower's benefits available to disabled individuals at any age, whereas currently the benefits are limited to such individuals between ages 50 to 60. Provisions reducing benefits in various instances, such as when a beneficiary is entitled to multiple types of benefits, shall not apply to widow and widower's benefits for individuals with disabilities.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
For determining whether a beneficiary has a child in his or her care, the bill raises the upper age limit for the child from 16 to 18 years (or 19, if the child is a full-time elementary or secondary school student). An individual with a child in care may receive increased benefits in specified instances.
The bill also increases various limits on widow and widower's benefits in certain instances and modifies the calculation for increased benefits for individuals who choose to delay receiving such benefits.
For current beneficiaries, increases in OASDI benefits under this bill shall not affect the beneficiary's eligibility for any federal assistance program or the benefit amount to be received under such an assistance program.
People & committees
Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] · D–PA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.3457 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.3457 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.3457 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.3457 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.