News

  • Social Security Announces 2 Cola

    Tucked away into the President's health care law is a little-known tax increase that's scheduled to hit seniors in 201If allowed to go forward, they will find themselves facing hundreds of dollars in higher taxes – at a time when many can least afford it. .In a January 2017 survey of The Senior Citizens League's members and supporters, 34 percent said they itemize deductions for out-of-pocket healthcare costs most years. One member of The Senior Citizens League – William P. from California – recently contacted us to share his concerns about the elimination of the medical expense deduction. William is home-bound due to several medical conditions, and he relies on home health aides to provide him with lifesaving care on a daily basis. At the age of 61, William is not yet eligible for Medicare and he expects the out-of-pocket cost of his care to total ,000 by the end of this year. The elimination of the medical expense deduction would be a major financial loss for him. .The Social Security Administration maintains an "earnings suspense file" which tracks wages sent in by employers, for earnings that cannot be posted to individual workers' records because there is no match for the name and Social Security number. The Congressional Research Service reports that wages represented in the earnings suspense file currently amount to approximately 0 billion. According to Social Security Administration Inspector Patrick P. O'Carroll, "We believe the chief cause of wage items being posted to the earnings suspense file instead of an individual's earning record is unauthorized work by noncitizens." … Continued

  • Legislative Update August 2013

    During the most recent years for which data are available (2000-2004), the total number of mismatched wage reports jumped from 217 million at the end of 1999 to 264 million by 2004, an average of more than 9.3 million per year—82% higher than during the 1990's and more than double the rate of the 1980's. .Rick has served the last seven years as a member of the TREA National Board of Directors. First, as Director for 3 years, then elected and served two terms as National President and then two years as Immediate Past National President. Prior to serving on the National Board of Directors from 2009-2014 he served on several National Committees. During his tenure on TREA's Board of Directors, he chaired the Legislative Affairs, Information Technology, Convention, 5-Year Plan, Awards committees, and chaired the Past National Presidents Council. .At a time when Congress is deeply divided on many issues, we need to find a way to break through the gridlock to pass bipartisan, commonsense measures to support our nation's seniors. In that spirit, I introduced the bipartisan SAFE ID Act to ensure that seniors can retire without fear of having their identity stolen or losing their savings. With nine of the ten top cities for tax-ID fraud located in Florida, many seniors in my home state have fallen prey to identity theft and other forms of fraud. This bipartisan legislation will eliminate one big source of identity theft by allowing a shortened taxpayer identity number to be used in place of a social security number on taxpayer forms like W-2s. … Continued

Investors already smell big money for a COVID-19 vaccine. .This year, Social Security beneficiaries received no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) despite a national survey indicating a majority reported higher costs. Do you support legislation that would give seniors an emergency COLA before the end of this year? .This issue has just popped up and TSCL will be in contact with members of Congress to do all we can to prevent these looming cuts and we will keep you advised as to how things are going. .Since you were born in 1959, your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. Starting benefits prior to your full retirement age will lower your monthly payments. If you were to retire at age 62 instead of age 66 and 10 months, a ,000 per month benefit would be permanently reduced to ,416— a reduction of about 29.17%. The longer you delay starting your benefit, the more you will receive. But age 66 and 10 months is NOT your maximum benefit age. Your maximum benefit comes at age 70, no matter when you were born. .TSCL is a strong supporter of H.R. 973, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week. .Investigate national and community charitable programs and organizations. An excellent guide to Prescription Drug Assistance Programs is available from The American Cancer Society. Even if you don't have cancer, the information is pertinent to all drug assistance programs. For more information call 1-800-ACS-2345 or download the publication at http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/FindingandPayingforTreatment/ManagingInsuranceIssues/PrescriptionDrugAssistancePrograms/index .Now, it turns out, AbbVie is helping to fund ads attacking legislation that would lower prescription drug costs. .An Emergency COLA in 2021 Would Prevent Economic Insecurity and An Unprecedented Medicare Part B Premium Increase for Older Americans. .As part of the economic stimulus bill just passed by Congress those sharp cuts have been put on pause.