,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cibd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #be1 #bjbf,ms4 ,collins 7for herself and ,ms4 ,hassan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,ii of the ,social ,security ,act to permit disabled individuals to elect to receive disability insurance benefits during the disability insurance benefit waiting period1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,we ,can't ,wait ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,election to receive 7a7 ,in general ,section #bbc7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dbc7 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 in the matter following subparagraph 7,e71 by striking 7i7 and all that follows through 1 7ii7 in and inserting 7i7 for each month beginning with the first month after the individual's waiting period 7as defined in subsection 7c77#b77 in which the individual becomes so entitled to such insurance benefits unless the individual elects to receive insurance benefits during such waiting period in accordance with paragraph 7#c71 7ii7 in the case of an individual electing to receive insurance benefits during the individual's waiting period pursuant to the preceding clause and in2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking and section #bae7;b77#b77;,a77ii7 and inserting 1 section #bae7;b77#b77;,a77ii71 and paragraph 7#c7 of this subsection12 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 7,a7 ,an individual who has not attained early retirement age 7as defined in section #baf7l77#b77 may elect to receive disability insurance benefits during the individual's waiting period pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 if such individual or their appointed representative makes such election in writing 7which may include selecting an option on a benefit application form7 during-- 7i7 in the case of an individual who has applied for but not yet received a decision on their application for such disability insurance benefits before the date on which this paragraph takes effect-- 7,i7 the #de-;day period following such date1 or 7,,ii7 the #aj-;day period 7if such period ends later than the end of the #de-;day period7 following the date on which such individual receives a decision on such application which is favorable to such individual1 7ii7 in the case of an individual applying for disability insurance benefits on or after the date on which this paragraph takes effect-- 7,i7 the date on which such individual files an application for disability insurance benefit1 or during the #aj-;day period following such date1 7,,ii7 the date on which such individual requests reconsideration of the initial determination1 or during the #aj-;day period following such date1 or 7,,iii7 the date on which such individual requests a hearing by an administrative law judge1 or during the #aj-;day period following such date1 7iii7 in the case of an individual whose interest the ,commissioner of ,social ,security determines would be served by making payment of the individual's benefit to a representative payee 7within the meaning of section #bje7;j771 such individual's election may be revoked or confirmed by such representative payee during the #aj-;day period beginning on the date on which such representative payee is selected1 and 7iv7 in the case of an individual who elects to receive disability insurance benefits during such individual's waiting period pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 the individual may revoke such election during the periods described in this subparagraph1 except that in no event shall such elections or revocations occur in the first month of an established period of eligibility4 7,b7 ,in the case of an individual electing to receive a disability insurance benefit during the individual's waiting period pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 such individual's disability insurance benefit for any month during or after such waiting period shall-- 7i7 be equal to the product of-- 7,i7 the disability insurance benefit amount determined under paragraph 7#b7 7as determined before application of this paragraph71 multiplied by 7,,ii7 the percentage determined under subparagraph 7,c7 for the month during which such individual first becomes entitled to such disability insurance benefit1 7ii7 continue unchanged for the entire period of eligibility for such disability insurance benefit1 and without the effect of recalculations described under subparagraph 7,c71 and 7iii7 if applicable1 be paid as part of a claim of entitlement to past-due benefits under this title and included in the total dollar amount of such past-due benefits4 7,c7 ,the percentage determined under this subparagraph shall be-- 7i7 for any month in the #cf-month period beginning with the first month that begins after the date that is #ahj days after the date of enactment of this paragraph1 #id4be percent1 and 7ii7 for any subsequent month1 the percentage most recently certified by the ,commissioner under paragraph 7,d77ii74 7,d7 7i7 ,not later than the end of the #cf-month period described under subparagraph 7,c77i71 and not later than the end of every #e-year period thereafter1 the ,chief ,actuary of the ,social ,security ,administration shall calculate a percentage such that the fiscal impact over a #ge-year period upon the ,federal ,disability ,insurance ,trust ,fund if all individuals who applied pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 to receive disability insurance benefits made an election to receive benefits during their waiting periods is equal to the fiscal impact over such period upon such ,trust ,fund that would have been made if all individuals who applied had not made such election4 7ii7 ,not later than the end of the #cf-month period described under subparagraph 7,c77i71 and not later than the end of every #e-year period thereafter1 the ,commissioner-- 7,i7 if the percentage calculated by the ,chief ,actuary in accordance with clause 7i7 is greater than or equal to #ia percent1 shall certify to the ,managing ,trustee such percentage1 or 7,,ii7 if such percentage is less than #ia percent1 may elect not to certify such percentage to the ,managing ,trustee4 7iii7 ,not later than #b years after the ,commissioner elects not to certify any percentage calculated by the ,chief ,actuary1 the ,chief ,actuary shall prepare and deliver a report to ,congress1 including detailed recommendations for administrative or legislative actions to permit individuals eligible for disability insurance benefits to receive disability insurance benefits during the disability insurance benefit waiting period such that the fiscal impact over a #ge-year period upon the ,federal ,disability ,insurance ,trust ,fund is actuarially neutral4 7,e7 ,no election made or not made by an individual pursuant to this paragraph shall be construed to have any effect on any benefits payable to any other individual on the basis of such individual's wages and self-employment income4 7,f7 ,the ,commissioner shall make available to the general public by posting on a website information relating to electing to receive disability insurance benefits during the waiting period1 including a calculator which an individual may use to determine the effect of electing to receive disability insurance benefits during the waiting period on the individual's disability insurance benefit4 7,g7 ,each application for entitlement to disability insurance benefits that may subject the individual to the waiting period pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall allow for new elections or revocations under this paragraph4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to applications for disability insurance benefits that are made or pending on or after the first day of the first month that begins after the date which is #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7c7 ,update to ,social ,security disability forms ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall update the application forms for applying for disability insurance benefits to include an option for applicants to elect to receive disability insurance benefits during their waiting period4