Cutting off the flow of benefits when a Social Security recipient dies is important to protect program finances from going to people who aren't entitled to them. The Social Security Administration maintains a list of deceased beneficiaries called the "Death Master File" to help public agencies and private companies know when a Social Security number is no longer valid. Keeping that list up to date is vitally important. But a new report from the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration confirms that the Social Security Administration indeed has a major problem. .Help! I'm turning 65 soon. My daughter says I should sign up for Medicare, but I don't know what to do or where to begin. I work for a small company with 17 employees, where I get my health insurance now. About a week is currently taken out of my paycheck for premiums. My current health coverage isn't that good. It has a ,500 deductible and, because I'm still in good health, I've never been able to benefit. .Notch Reform continues to be a major priority of seniors who turn 85 to 94 this year. After so many years of receiving lower Social Security benefits than other seniors having similar work and earnings histories, is it any wonder that the majority of "Notch Babies" believe Congress is waiting for the issue to quietly die away? .New Social Security COLA Legislation Introduced .In addition, three new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty-four in the Senate and thirty-four in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1), and Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14). .Four cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act this week. Two Representatives – Ben Chandler (KY-6) and Mike Quigley (IL-5) – signed on to Rep. Buck McKeon's H.R. 1332, and two Senators – Sherrod Brown (OH) and Frank Lautenberg (NJ) – signed on to Sen. John Kerry's S. 20The cosponsor totals for these bills are up to 149 and 9, respectively. .As you have learned, there's a long lag time between the year you earned the money and when you get the notice from Social Security. Social Security makes the adjustments based on your W2s and tax returns. Making matters worse, the earnings limit is adjusted annually and was even lower in prior years. In 2018 the limit was ,040 and in 2017, ,920. In addition, the notice you received would likely only pertain to one year of earnings, and you possibly could receive a similar notice next year and go through the process of withheld benefits all over again. .Actuaries aren't in agreement over how many more years of solvency Social Security has left. The 2018 Social Security Trustees Report estimates that the Social Security Trust Fund will become insolvent in 2034, about 15 years from now. The more pessimistic Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the depletion date would be two years sooner in 2032, only 13 years away. If Congress does nothing, and allows the Social Security Trust Fund to become insolvent, the program could still pay benefits, but benefits would be cut to coincide with the amount of revenue received — by about 25%. .TSCL agrees that the IPAB should be repealed before it is triggered to begin making cost-cutting recommendations to Congress. Even though the Affordable Care Act forbids the board from "rationing" care, cutting Medicare benefits, or increasing premiums, TSCL is concerned that cuts to providers could result in increased costs for beneficiaries or decreased access to quality medical care.