Notch Fairness Act of 2001

H.R. 853, the Notch Fairness Act of 2001, aimed to increase Social Security benefits for a specific group of retirees known as "Notch babies"—individuals born between 1917 and 1926 who received lower monthly payments due to a change in the benefit formula enacted in 1977. The bill proposed a choice for these retirees: they could either receive a permanent increase in their monthly checks based on a sliding scale or opt for a one-time $5,000 lump-sum payment distributed over four years. This legislation was designed to compensate these seniors for the perceived disparity in their retirement income compared to those born just a few years earlier or later.