Social Security Widow's Benefit Guarantee Act of 2002

The Social Security Widow's Benefit Guarantee Act of 2002 was designed to increase the monthly payments received by surviving spouses and simplify the eligibility process for those benefits. The bill proposed to eliminate the current seven-year deadline for disabled widows and widowers to apply for benefits and would have removed the two-year waiting period for divorced spouses to receive benefits if their former spouse remarried. Additionally, the legislation included a "hold harmless" provision to ensure that survivors who received a boost in Social Security income would not lose their eligibility for Medicaid coverage.