The 2017 COLA will likely be 0.3 percent says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst and researcher for TSCL. "And there's a chance that lower gas prices will drag the COLA down even further, to 0.2 percent," Johnson adds. Either way, the 2017 COLA is expected to raise Social Security benefits by only a few dollars, and any increase will be completely offset by stiff increases in the Medicare Part B premium for most people 65 and over. .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795), bringing the total up to one hundred and thirteen. The new cosponsors are: Reps. Michael Fitzpatrick (PA-8), Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Brett Guthrie (KY-2), and Katherine Clark (MA-5). If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, fire fighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. .Use a consumer price index that better reflects the costs of retirees — the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). .Forty-five percent (45%) say their retirement savings dropped significantly in value and that they have cut back on spending. Another 13 percent (13%) say their retirement savings have dropped, but they are unable to cut back any further. .We have been reporting recently that unless Congress passes new legislation soon there will be significant cuts in Medicare payments to health care providers, such as doctors and hospitals. If that happens it is quite possible those patients covered by Medicare would likely face negative consequences with regard to their health care. .Notch Babies receive lower benefits than other seniors near to them in age with similar earnings histories. For example, in 2012, the average benefit of 95-year old Notch Babies was ,31Yet the average benefit of 96-year old seniors was ,390, a monthly difference of Under normal circumstances the benefits of retirees who are younger are usually slightly higher, because wages used to determine benefits tend to increase over time. This is not the case with people born during the Notch period. . Mary: How does "anchoring" impact our decision-making? .Congress should prohibit "surprise medical bills. Congress should require healthcare providers and insurers to accept fees no greater than 20 percent more than the Medicare approved fees as settlement. — 82 percent support, 15 percent not sure, and only 4 percent opposed. (Legislation passed in December would provide relief from surprise medical bills but stopped short of tying payments to prices paid by Medicare and Medicaid which are often lower than other rates negotiated by other insurers.) .The annual COLA increased Social Security benefits in January of 2021 by just 1.3 percent. While the lack of inflation in 2020 did somewhat improve the buying power of Social Security benefits by 2 percentage points by the month of January 2021 — from a loss in buying power of 30 percent to a loss of 28 percent — that improvement was completely wiped out by soaring inflation in February and March of this year.