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TSCL advocates for legislation that makes affordability for Medicare beneficiaries a priority. Medicare healthcare costs are the fastest growing cost that retired households face, and beneficiaries often shoulder a heavy financial burden. "Cutting Medicare benefits, while shifting more costs to beneficiaries, would be the wrong way to strengthen program financing" says Johnson..Employment assistance.TSCL is working with Members of Congress for enactment of legislation in both the House and Senate that would require Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. Recently TSCL launched a nationwide grassroots effort to urging Americans to contact Members of Congress to protest how big drug companies are getting away with steep prices on drugs, and to urge them to enact legislation that would make Medicare responsible for negotiating drug prices. Join the effort, sign our petition!.TSCL enthusiastically supports the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act, and in a survey that we conducted in January, nearly 90 percent of our members and supporters agreed that such payments should be prohibited. We commend Rep. Rohrabacher for introducing legislation that would protect the integrity of the Social Security program while preventing an unnecessary and unspecified strain on the Trust Fund. We look forward to working with him in the coming months to help build support for the critical piece of legislation..For more information or to view a list of cosponsors, click here..The U.S. Treasury has borrowed .8 trillion from Social Security, but in recent years Congress has battled over the borrowing required to repay the Trust Fund. Some are calling instead for COLA and other "entitlement" cuts..The 1977 benefit formula changes affected workers who turned 62 and became eligible for benefits just two years later, in 1979 and thereafter. To protect people close to retirement from abrupt benefit cuts, and to phase in the benefit reductions, a 5-year transitional formula was provided affecting people born from 1917 through 192That group had their benefits figured two different ways using both the transitional benefit formula, and the new benefit formula. People received the higher of the two benefits..Increasing the payroll tax rate. Survey results have also shown strong support for a gradual increase in the payroll tax rate from 6.2% to 7.4%. An increase of that size would amount to an extra 50 cents per week for the average worker an amount that most feel is fair and practical..Without a doubt, the idea of starting Social Security benefits before you reach your full retirement age has strong appeal. But consider this: statistics indicate that about half of today's working age households who are close to retirement age will not be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.