In her opening statement, Chairman Susan Collins (ME), said: "Deciding at what age to begin claiming Social Security retirement benefits is the single most important financial decision that many Americans will ever make. Few, however, understand that making the wrong choice can end up costing them tens of thousands of dollars, or more, during their retirement." Retirees who qualify for Social Security benefits are entitled to begin collecting at 62, but for each delayed year, benefits grow by 8 percent until they reach their maximum amount at age 70. According to Chairman Collins, deciding when to file for benefits "could make the difference between a secure retirement and living in poverty." .Obamacare is not the first government program in which major implementation glitches had disastrous consequences for large numbers of beneficiaries. In 1977 changes that Congress made to the Social Security benefit formula created a major inequity in benefits that cost retirees tens of thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits over their lifetimes. The seniors affected are among the oldest and most vulnerable today. Born during 1917 through 1926, and known as "Notch Babies," they received substantially lower benefits than other seniors close to them in age with almost identical work and earnings records. The name refers to the plunging "V" notch when benefits of Notch Babies are charted on a graph. .In addition, one new cosponsor – Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) – signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118). The cosponsor total is now up to thirty-eight. If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the CPI-E, resulting in more accurate COLAs; and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. H.R. 3118 would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. .Given that disabled beneficiaries would receive on average 0,000 prior to transferring to Social Security benefits, even the smallest error in determining eligibility can result in significant overpayments. TSCL believes that the government should make every effort to perform timely continuing disability reviews (CDRs) to ensure that benefits are only paid out to those who are eligible. The Social Security Administration estimates that every spent on medical CDRs yields about in SSA program savings over ten years. Currently the CDR backlog stands at 1.2 million. SSA's goal for FY2013 is 435,000 CDRs based on the current level of funding. .Many of these proposals to improve Social Security benefits for women will, and should, also benefit men who took time out of their working careers to care for someone else. However, because women are more likely to outlive their husbands and take care of children, TSCL believes these proposals can particularly help women who gave so much to others, and deserve protection in return. To learn more about these and other proposals that would strengthen Social Security benefits for mothers and caretakers, visit our website at . .(Washington, DC) –Today's announcement of a 0.3 percent cost - of - living adjustment (COLA) is another major disappointment to the 60 million people who depend on Social Security, says The Senior Citizens League (TSCL.) "The consumer price index (CPI) that the government uses to determine the annual COLA is simply not doing the job of protecting the buying power of older and disabled Americans," says Mary Johnson, TSCL's Social Security policy analyst. .But this doesn't necessarily mean that the rising Part B premium would reduce an individual's net Social Security benefits next year. Due to a special provision of law known as the Social Security "hold harmless" provision, the Medicare Part B premium is adjusted to prevent an overall reduction in Social Security benefits from December of the previous year. The provision only applies to about 70% of all Medicare beneficiaries, however, and does not protect people whose overall income is so low that their Medicare Part B premium is paid by state Medicaid programs, and individuals with incomes above ,000 or married couples with incomes above 5,000. .TSCL is happy to hear that. However, we also know that the big drug companies are spending millions of dollars lobbying heavily against legislation in Congress that would lower drug prices. So, we remain skeptical of his intentions until we actually see a proposal or proposals to do what he claims the drug companies want to do. .TSCL is gearing up to fight legislation that would cut the current rate of COLA growth any further. To the contrary seniors need a COLA that more adequately protects the buying power of Social Security, and TSCL supports H.R. 776, the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act, introduced by Representative Eliot Engel (NY-17). Why not take a few minutes now to send your Representative an email explaining how you need a Social Security COLA you can rely on? Be sure to ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 776, the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act.