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  • Best Ways To Save November 2019

    Common sense suggests that the slowdown in rising Medicare costs is unlikely to last long. Medicare spending results for two main reasons: .The period covered by the Notch is a major area of dispute. When benefits are represented on a chart, the disparity forms a deep "V" notch. Benefits plunged from a peak for retirees born in 1916 and hit the lowest part of the "V" for those who were born in the years 1920-2Benefits began to rise for those born in 1922 until they became level with other retirees, starting with those born in 192See illustration below. .Last week House Appropriations Military Construction-VA Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) pushed a Department of Veterans Affairs official at a hearing to work on a plan to offer coronavirus vaccines to veterans even if they are not eligible for VA health care. … Continued

  • Illegal Workers Could Claim Nearly 1 Trillion In Social Security

    Last year was a busy and successful one for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Three major legislative efforts that had our support were effectively tackled by lawmakers in Congress and signed into law by President Obama. .Allowing individuals to import prescription drugs from abroad. Many Medicare beneficiaries spend thousands of dollars every month on lifesaving medications under the Part D program. The bipartisan Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act (S. 61) would allow these individuals import their prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada, where medicines are often half the cost. This critical bill would improve access to affordable medication for older Americans, and it would bring down costs nationwide by increasing competition in the American marketplace. .On Monday, an executive order from President Obama went into effect requiring all federal agencies – including the Social Security Administration (SSA) – to add an additional security measure to all online accounts that contain sensitive personal information. Under the new policy, Social Security beneficiaries must provide a text-enabled cellphone number when logging in to their online accounts. The two-step authorization process requires them to enter a temporary security code sent to them via text message before they can access their online information. … Continued

TSCL supports these bills enthusiastically, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .I've been hearing a lot recently that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Just how much in Social Security benefits can I expect? I just turned 62, but I'm still working and haven't started benefits yet. .New cosponsors sign on to Social Security Fairness Act .Some deficit cutters contend that the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare beneficiaries pay will have to go up and seniors should pay more for their Medicare benefits. "This survey is powerful testimony to those who hold such beliefs," says TSCL Chairman Larry Hyland. "This survey indicates that they don't understand how much seniors already spend for their healthcare, and how many have already cut back," Hyland adds. "With the majority of seniors depending on Social Security for at least half of their income, and healthcare costs increasing several times faster than benefits, few beneficiaries can afford to pay any more than they already do for their healthcare," he notes. .By using reconciliation, it would mean there would have to billions of dollars cut from current spending programs, including Medicare. .The payraise goes into effect automatically unless denied by legislation, or adjusted by a provision of law that prevents Congress from receiving a percentage of pay increase that would be greater than any payraise received by the General Schedule to federal workers. When Congress passed legislation in December of 2010 that froze the pay of federal workers through December 31, 2012, they effectively froze their own pay as well. No similar provision of law, however, prevents Congress from receiving a bigger COLA than seniors. The adjustment for Congress is not determined like the COLA for seniors, which is based on changes in consumer prices. Instead the Congressional COLA is based on changes in private sector wages and salaries as measured by the Employment Cost Index. Members of Congress were originally scheduled to receive a pay adjustment in January 2010, of 2.1%, and in 2011 of 0.9% had legislation not prohibited it. .TSCL has been working with Rep. Larson the past few years to expand Social Security benefits, strengthen the Social Security Trust Fund and correct the flaw in the way annual COLAs are determined. We look forward to his reintroduction of the Social Security COVID-19 Correction and Equity Act. .Resource online: StopMedicareFraud.gov .In the past five years the annual adjustment has averaged just 1.4 percent — less than half the 3 percent average of the prior two decades starting in 1990. Retirees and disabled Social Security recipients are reporting that the COLA is doing a poor job of what it's intended to do — protecting the buying power of their Social Security benefits. According to an annual survey performed by TSCL, Social Security benefits have lost 31 percent of their buying power since 2000.