I was born during the Notch period. I would like to know how long Notch Babies have been underpaid. In addition could you tell me if the underpayment has been corrected and if we are receiving the right amount now? - M.R. Fort Cobb, OK.We look forward to working with Sen. Casey and Rep. Cartwright in the coming months to help build support for this important bill. In addition, we urge our members and supporters to contact their elected officials to request their support for it. For contact information, CLICK HERE..More Americans are spending more years in retirement, but have little or no retirement savings. Fewer employers are offering retirement plans and participation from workers is low among those who do. According to a study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Analysis at the New School, the median net worth among households near retirement show that only about a quarter can expect an adequate cash income stream from their retirement savings..On Wednesday, the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing titled "Lacking a Leader: Challenges Facing the SSA after over Five Years of Acting Commissioners." The Social Security Administration has been without a Senate-confirmed commissioner for over five years, which means it has not had a leader with the legal authority to make long-term decisions for the future of the agency..The programs were struggling even before sequester. Federal funding has remained flat for years, even though about 10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day..It also seems to be a more severe flu strain than the seasonal flu which means more people require greater medical care. For most people this flu is survivable but without the extra medical care that someone might normally need they may succumb to it..New Bill Would Expand Medicare Coverage.When there is no or a very low COLA, a special provision of law known as "hold harmless" protects beneficiaries when the dollar amount of their COLA is lower than the dollar amount of their Part B increase. The Part B premium is adjusted to prevent a reduction in Social Security benefits from one year to the next. "But when this provision occurs on a program-wide basis - as it did in 2016 and 2017, the entire increase in Medicare Part B for the year is shifted to the people who are not protected by hold harmless, Johnson notes. Instead of the Part B increase being spread over all Medicare beneficiaries, the total cost increase is borne by only 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who are not protected by the hold harmless provisions. They include:.And it could be worse if inflation is lower and Medicare Part B premiums are higher. Due to a special provision of law known as the Social Security hold harmless provision, when the dollar amount of the Medicare Part B premium increase is greater than the dollar amount of an individual's COLA, the Medicare Part B premium is adjusted to prevent a reduction in Social Security benefits from December of the previous year. Those affected by hold harmless wind up with no growth in their net Social Security benefit after the deduction for Part B premiums. That leaves nothing extra left over to deal with other rising costs such as housing and drug costs.
