News

  • Legislative Update For The Week Ending August 19 2011

    When a Senate vote is tied, the Vice President, who the Constitution designates as the President of the Senate, can cast the tie-breaking vote, which is exactly what happened. .This week, five new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 896 and H.R. 1795), bringing the total up to thirteen in the Senate and ninety-two in the House. The new cosponsors are Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR) and Reps. Charles Boustany, Jr. (LA-3), Thomas Massie (KY-4), Bill Shuster (PA-9), and Barbara Lee (CA-13). If signed into law, H.R. 1795 would repeal two provisions of the Social Security Act that unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. The provisions – the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset – prevent dedicated public servants from receiving the retirement security they have earned. .Gang of Eight Defends Immigration Reform Plan … Continued

  • Notch Bulletin November 2010 Advisor Feed

    An abrupt jump in inflation in February and March of this year wiped out a short-lived improvement in the buying power of Social Security benefits in 2020, according to TSCL's latest study on rising senior costs. The study, which compares the growth in the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA)s with increases in the costs of goods and services typically used by retirees, found that, while consumer prices flatlined in 2020 through January 2021, costs are now sharply increasing. .Our legislative team was pleased to see the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act advance out of the Ways and Means Committee this week, and we will be sure to monitor its progress as it moves to the House floor. Leaders expect it to be taken up during the week of June 15th, and it is expected to pass there with bipartisan support as well. For updates on the status of H.R. 1190, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .In addition to overlooking Medicare premiums, the CPI-W also doesn't accurately measure the portion of income that retirees and disabled Social Security recipients spend on Medicare. Spending for medical care in the CPI for younger adults represents about 6.5 percent of household budgets, but surveys by TSCL suggest that retirees routinely send more than twice that amount. … Continued

For updates on the progress of the Prescription Drug Affordability Act or for more information about the Medicare Part D doughnut hole, visit our website at or find us on Facebook and Twitter. .The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for these three bills this week, and we thank the new cosponsors for their support. In the months ahead, The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security 2100 Act, and the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, and we urge Congress to enact them this year. .Economists are saying that cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) overpay seniors and that recipients don't need so much money to maintain their standard of living. Cuts to annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are a key provision of the deficit reduction plans on Capitol Hill, and TSCL is fighting the plans that would cut the benefits of more than 60 million beneficiaries. .If you have recently moved and need to update your official mailing address, visit MySocialSecurityaccount, or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. .The most widely-discussed proposals to revamp Social Security include raising the eligibility age, making the benefit formula less generous, and reducing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Reducing COLAs would impact the lifetime Social Security benefits of all current beneficiaries, as well as affecting future retirees. Under discussion is a proposal that would reduce COLAs by switching to a more slowly-growing, "chained" consumer price index to calculate the annual benefit boost. In fact the new tax law, recently did something similar. Indexing of income tax brackets, the standard deduction, and other parameters of the tax code for inflation was tied to a chained COLA. That means that people will pay higher taxes over time, as the standard deduction becomes less generous, while rising income would tend to push older taxpayers into higher brackets. .Here are a few secrets about Part D coverage that keep you stuck in your plan and overpaying for prescriptions: .The bad news: there's still plenty of age discrimination in the workplace. When workers over age 50 lose their jobs, it takes them much longer to find new jobs. And the impact of a layoff is bigger for older workers. These folks face the reality that they may not work again full time, which can wreck a retirement plan. Studies show that household wealth typically takes a hit as high as 23 percent for single people and 19 percent for married couples. .Nine prominent physician groups recently released lists of 45 common tests and treatments they say are often unnecessary. The problem is costing you dearly — as much as one third of every healthcare dollar, researchers say. As someone supposed to be giving you tips on how to save money, I'm embarrassed to admit that earlier this year I was a victim of overzealous medical testing. I'm not on Medicare yet, but what happened to me is happening to millions of those of you who are. .Judge Rules Hospitals Must Disclose Prices