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Today millions of older women are depending on insufficient Social Security benefits to get them through a retirement that can stretch up to 30 years. Low benefits mean people have to spend more of their retirement savings at a faster pace than anticipated..The Notch that..The flowerpots aren't watered..However, it's not clear whether employers are going to pass the savings on to employees. Since the taxes would be deferred, not waived, several experts question whether firms would actually pass the money along to their workers, because it is the businesses that are on the hook for the taxes..Social Security Reform Extending the program's solvency without enacting harmful cuts..Retirees frequently say that their annual cost-of-living adjustment does not adequately keep pace with rising costs. To learn if this is the case, this study, now in its eleventh year, looks at 40 expenditures that are typical for people age 65 and up, comparing the growth in the prices of those goods and services, to the growth in COLAs..After a rare bipartisan agreement, President Obama signed a bill into law that will extend the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits, and prevent a 27% pay cut to Medicare physicians. The President signed the measure into law in private on Wednesday, after celebrating the passage of the bill at an event on Tuesday..Those who testified at Wednesday's hearing made several practical recommendations to those on the Subcommittee. Ms. Zahm told lawmakers that administrative law judges would work more effectively with additional support staff. She said: "Give my judges a clerk and two attorneys and we can go to town [on the DI backlog]." Other witnesses suggested common-sense solutions like eliminating arbitrary deadlines that cause confusion for claimants who are not represented by attorneys that would make the application process more straight-forward. Several witnesses also requested more adequate funding for the Social Security Administration. Ms. Disman told the Subcommittee members, "You could certainly say that with more funding we could do more.".New claims must be filed online and, to reach telephone assistance, one has to have the patience to wade through tedious automated menus, which can have long 24 -hour waits for return calls. Local Social Security offices can be so packed that it's standing room only. All this is coming home to roost for people who have middle to low incomes, and who can't afford the fees of professional retirement advisors. Too many people retire too soon, leaving substantial amounts of retirement income behind. That makes it all the more difficult to maintain one's standard of living later on in retirement.