A quirk in the Social Security benefit formula interacting with the sharp economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic could cause certain groups of near-retirees to suffer significant and permanent reductions to their Social Security retirement benefits. A sudden decline in the Social Security Administration (SSA)'s measure of economywide average wages in the year a worker turns 60 causes the Social Security benefit formula to devalue all the worker's earnings prior to age 60, resulting in a lower measure of career-average earnings and a lower benefit in retirement. A middle-income worker aged 60 in 2020 could receive an annual Social Security benefit reduction of around 9%, with losses through retirement approaching $46,000. Individuals becoming eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits would be subject to similar reductions in percentage terms. Several methods are discussed to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of similar benefit ‘notches’ occurring in the future.

由于COVID-19大流行而导致的社会保障福利公式中的一个怪异现象与急剧的经济衰退相互作用，可能导致某些接近退休的人群永久性地大幅减少其社会保障退休福利。社会保障局（SSA）衡量某位工人60岁那一年的经济平均工资的突然下降，导致社会保障福利公式贬低了60岁之前所有工人的收入，从而降低了职业生涯的衡量标准-平均收入和较低的退休福利。到2020年，一名60岁的中等收入工人每年可获得的社会保障福利减少约9％，退休后的损失将近46,000美元。符合资格获得社会保障残疾保险金的个人，其百分比也将受到类似的减少。讨论了几种方法来减少或消除将来出现类似收益“缺口”的可能性。