News

  • Senior Citiziens League

    Financial Management, Challenges in Meeting Requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act, GAO-05-417, March 200"Annual Statistical Survey 2004, Social Security Administration, Table 5.A.1. .(Washington, DC) – The Social Security Administration has announced that the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will increase benefits by 2.0 percent for 201While the increase is the highest in five years, it won't be enough to offset dramatically higher Medicare Part B premium increases for millions of beneficiaries, warns The Senior Citizens League. .Unlike the temporary payroll tax cuts, which wouldn't affect Social Security's finances, the diversion of Social Security contributions into private accounts would substantially reduce the amount of money available to pay current beneficiaries. This "privatization" of Social Security contributions would drain the Social Security Trust Fund in short order and require the transfer of TRILLIONS of dollars from the U.S. Treasury into the Social Security Trust Fund in the coming decades to continue paying current benefits. … Continued

  • Ask The Advisor July August 2019

    The program applies to illegals under the age of 31, who entered the U.S. prior to the age of 16, and have resided illegally in the U.S. since June 15, 200Applicants must also be currently enrolled in school, have a GED certificate, or have served in the U.S. military, and be law-abiding. Critics, including TSCL, question how the government will be able to verify when applicants actually entered the country and whether they were under the age of 16 when they did. .Voters are worried about the impact that midterm elections could have on Social Security benefits. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that recent tax reform will add .8 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. To make matters worse, the Social Security trustees recently reported program financing has eroded, and estimated that the trust funds will run short by 2034, due to lower-than-expected revenue from tax law changes. .To get a list of supplemental plans offered in your state, insurers and premiums, check your state's insurance commission's website for published guides comparing Medicare supplement premiums. Look up the plan you are interested in to compare premiums in your area. Be sure you look at the quotes for people who are your age, but do read on to get a feel for how premiums rise with age. Once you pin down a few likely insurers, you will need to call the insurer to confirm premium quotes for your zip code. … Continued

The Senior Citizens League was disappointed that the President did not comment on Social Security or Medicare during his State of the Union address, but we were pleased that he spoke about the need to reduce prescription drug prices. The President said he was proud to have helped improve "access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs" by speeding up the FDA approvals process last year. That move could increase competition and bring down prices by encouraging generics to enter the market more quickly. .Sources: "Income of the Population 55 or Older," 2008, Social Security Administration. "Health Care On A Budget," Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2011. .Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-4) introduced H.R. 1170 on February 13, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .Fixing this problem seems to be more complicated than passing a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it known that no Republican Senators will support raising the debt ceiling and without Republican support Democrats will have to resort to a special procedure called "reconciliation" in order to pass it because of the Senate filibuster rule. In the past there has been partisan squabbling over raising the debt ceiling but when it came right down to it both sides ended up voting to raise it. We'll find out very soon whether that will happen this time. .Can you tell me how I can find out what my benefit and probable income from Social Security would be? I've heard some complaints about conflicting information. I turn 62 later this year. .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. .The budget resolution now heads to the House floor, where its future remains uncertain. Republican leaders in the House have been attempting to win the support of the 40-member conservative Freedom Caucus for weeks, but they have not yet been successful. They will need to rely upon a least a dozen of their votes for its passage. Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (GA-6) told reporters this week that he is "working with members who are not on the Budget Committee" to build support for it, and that it will be taken up "when we have the votes." .While the benefit cuts were negotiated in secret and enacted swiftly with virtually no public debate, Congress passed up the opportunity to close another and far bigger Social Security loophole — one that allows people with the nation's highest wages (including all Members of Congress) to get an enormous tax break, while paying Social Security (FICA) taxes on just a fraction of what they earn. In fact, about 6% of all wage earners, according to the Social Security Administration, pay no Social Security taxes at all on earnings over 8,500. Once they have earned 8,500, these workers get to keep 6.2% of every dollar earned over that amount in wages. .I turn 65 later this year and I'm in good health. How much will Medicare premiums cost, and what other costs will I have? I do not get health insurance where I work.