SS "notch" for '47?

In a May brief the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reports on lower Social Security benefits for new retirees born in 1947 compared to those born in 1930-1946. This is due to an "unintended quirk" in the benefit formula, and the paper urges congressional action for adjustment.

Since cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) were adopted in 1975, this is the first year of no COLA. The formula for granting COLA interacted with a spike in inflation in 2008, and those born in 1947 did not receive the 5.8 percent "windfall COLA" paid in Jan. 2009. The paper explains the term "notch" from the 1970s when beneficiaries born in 1917-1921 appeared to be at a disadvantage because of changes in SS benefit rules.

A New Social Security 'Notch'? Bad News for People Born in 1947, May 2010
      Brief (pdf, 8pp/203 kB)
      Introduction