A House bill that was reintroduced earlier this month would boost Social Security benefits for widows and widowers by up to 25%.

The Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement Act, introduced by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) on June 7, would create an alternative benefit that is equal to 75% of the combined income both spouses received when the recipient was alive. Because some Social Security recipients see a drop in 50% of their monthly income when their spouse dies, the benefit would increase their expected income by an extra 25%.

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“Losing a spouse is devastating, and for those who depend on Social Security, the added financial distress of losing significant income can make an already difficult time even more troubling,” Sanchez said in a statement.

“The POWR Act will create an alternative benefit, ensuring widows and widowers can keep paying their bills. I am proud to reintroduce this legislation to give some security and peace of mind to those who have lost a loved one.”

Surviving spouses often see a sudden drop in social security benefits when they lose their loved ones because they cannot receive their own Social Security benefits and a survivor’s benefit, which is up to 100% of their spouse’s Social Security primary insurance amount, at the same time under current law.

The survivor's benefit can be paid out to spouses as young as 60, which would give them Social Security benefits two years earlier than the youngest age of retirement, which is 62. But, the monthly payment at age 60 is only 71% of the benefit that would be paid to the survivor at the full retirement age of 67. The monthly payment for survivors at 67 is 100% of the deceased's full benefit.

The new POWR bill has been endorsed by six congressional co-signers and the nonprofit group Social Security Works.

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“Among Social Security’s most important protections are the monthly survivor annuities, currently paid to over four million widows and widowers,” Nancy Altman, the nonprofit group's president, told ThinkAdvisor. “But these benefits are very modest and often represent a drastic drop in family income. Women and men who have just lost their spouses should not also face a substantial loss of income that puts them at risk of poverty."

Sanchez first introduced the bill in 2016. It has been co-signed by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME).