H.R. 10193: We Can't Wait Act of 2026

This bill would change Social Security Disability Insurance rules so that some disabled people can choose to start receiving benefits during the usual waiting period, instead of having to wait until that period ends.

What changes for applicants

Under current law, people approved for disability insurance benefits generally have to wait before payments begin. This bill would let an eligible person who has not reached early retirement age elect, in writing, to receive benefits during that waiting period.

The choice could be made in several ways, including by checking an option on an application form. The bill also allows the election to be made or changed during specific windows tied to the application process, reconsideration, or hearing stages.

How payments would work

If someone chooses to receive benefits during the waiting period, the monthly benefit would not necessarily be the full standard amount at first. Instead, it would be reduced by a percentage set under the bill.

For the first 36 months after the policy takes effect, the payment would be set at 94.25% of the usual amount. After that, the percentage would be adjusted based on calculations by the Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuary and certified by the Commissioner, with the goal of keeping the disability insurance trust fund financially neutral over the long term.

Once set, the amount for an individual would stay the same for that person’s entire period of eligibility, without later recalculations under this rule.

Deadlines and timing

The bill would take effect for disability applications filed or pending on or after the first day of the first month that begins 180 days after enactment. It would also require the Social Security Administration to update its application forms within 180 days of enactment so applicants can choose whether to receive benefits during the waiting period.

Other administrative rules

• Applicants would be allowed to make new elections or revoke earlier elections on updated applications that may involve the waiting period.
• If a representative payee is used, that payee could confirm or revoke the election within a 10-day window after being selected, in certain cases.
• The Social Security Administration would have to publish public information on the program, including an online calculator showing how the election would affect a person’s benefit.
• The bill says a person’s choice would not affect benefits payable to other individuals based on the same worker’s earnings record.

Funding and oversight provisions

The bill includes mechanisms intended to keep the program from increasing long-term costs to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Every five years, the Chief Actuary would recalculate the percentage used to reduce payments during the waiting period. If the actuarial adjustment is too low to certify under the bill’s rules, the Commissioner could decline to certify it. If that happens, the Chief Actuary would have to report to Congress with recommendations for changes that would make the policy actuarially neutral.

Relevant Companies

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