Social Security Amendments of 1983: Legislative History and Summary of Provisions
A 1983 Social Security Bulletin article by John A. Svahn and Mary Ross traces the legislative history of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 and summarizes their provisions, from the National Commission on Social Security Reform's bipartisan package through enactment by President Reagan on April 20, 1983 as Public Law 98-21. The amendments — covering new Federal employees, nonprofit workers, and officials including Members of Congress, delaying the 1983 COLA, taxing benefits of higher-income beneficiaries, accelerating tax increases, and gradually raising the retirement age to 67 — are estimated to restore OASDI solvency and improve Medicare's finances through new prospective hospital payment.
