By the TSCL Legislative Staff
The results of TSCL's 2005 Advisor Senior Survey are in and we are listening. We asked readers of The Social Security & Medicare Advisor how several recent changes to Medicare are affecting you. In addition we polled your opinions on a number of options to make Social Security more sustainable. While your responses about the new Medicare law were fairly consistent, opinions about how to fix Social Security were more mixed.
An overwhelming majority of you — 89% — said you have not signed up for the Medicare prescription discount card. In 2003, when the legislation passed, TSCL originally hoped the Medicare prescription discount card credit of $600 in 2004 and 2005 for low-income beneficiaries might help some Notch babies. Later, after we learned how complicated the program would be, and how card sponsors could change drug pricing at any time, our doubts grew.
Your answers confirmed our concerns. About half of you said you did not enroll because you already had some other form of coverage. But of those who did not have other coverage, 83% said you did not enroll because you didn't believe you would save anything. In addition, 51% found the program too confusing.
As for fixing Social Security, the majority of you responding, 69%, said you oppose privatization or even partial privatization of Social Security. Another 16% were undecided at the time of our survey in late January and February of this year. Only 11% said you support private accounts, but we have been hearing from those of you who do!
Of all the options to fix Social Security, 88% agreed that excess Social Security payroll taxes should NOT be used for other government spending, but invested in marketable interest-bearing certificates of deposit or highly rated safe bonds. Sixty - seven percent support cutting wasteful government spending rather than raising taxes or borrowing to pay benefits.
Your opinions are very important. We use them to help craft the TSCL legislative agenda and when we visit Members of Congress. The results of our surveys help us to be your voice on Capitol Hill, and in making decisions on whether or not to support legislation.
We invite you to send us your comments on issues of importance throughout the year. Thanks to all of you who took the time to participate in our 2005 Advisor Senior Survey.
