Recently we learned of a woman, now in her 80's, who has moved twice in the past decade to be close to her daughter. Her first move was from the family home in Connecticut to an up-scale retirement community in Virginia, and more recently following her daughter to Arizona after her son-in-law's job changed. Her former Virginia home has been sitting on the market for months. That's posing a drain on her resources, adding unanticipated costs for new housing at a time when her need for caregiving services is growing. Her daughter worried that the former facility wasn't handling things well. .Fraudulent Use of Social Security Numbers Is Not Penalized .Source: "Spouses Eligible For Higher Retirement Benefits," Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration, March 2014. .Editor's note: Telephone etiquette has changed! Ask around, and you'll probably discover that many people are letting their voice mail or answering systems screen calls. This is no longer considered rude — but acting in self - defense. Protect yourself from scam (and your dinner from getting cold due to calls at meal time.). Be defensive: .TSCL enthusiastically supports the Credit for Caring Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act, and we were pleased to see support grow for each one this week. To receive frequent progress updates on these and other Social Security, Medicare, and family caregiving bills, follow TSCL on Twitter. .But critics say the failure to make in-person checks prevented states from identifying lapses at a crucial time. The fact that family members were blocked from visiting their relatives — a policy intended to prevent the virus from entering the facility — removed another source of accountability in homes, some of which ended up having more than half of their residents stricken with the coronavirus. .A huge inconsistency between U.S. immigration law and Social Security threatens to undermine the income security of millions of U.S. senior citizens and the disabled. In 2004 Congress passed legislation requiring immigrants to have work authorization at the time a Social Security number is assigned or at some later time, in order to become entitled under Social Security.(1) Therefore, immigrants who obtain authorization to work in this country may eventually claim benefits based on all earnings. .Members of Congress adjourned for the holiday recess this week, with the Senate returning on Thursday to resume Fiscal Cliff negotiations. .With many seniors spending 30 or more years living in retirement, a COLA that keeps up with rising costs is essential protection for making retirement savings last, and for preventing seniors from falling into poverty. Yet over the past five years, Social Security benefits have grown on average about 1.4% per year — less than half the average rate of growth in previous years. Recent projections by the Congressional Budget Office for 2015 suggest another low COLA of 1.6% next year.