News

  • Category Legislative News Page 45

    When no, or a very low, COLA occurs, a provision of law known as "hold harmless" is triggered. Under the provision, when an individual's Social Security COLA is insufficient to cover the increase in the Medicare Part B premium, the Part B premium is adjusted so that one's Social Security benefit isn't reduced from one year to the next. About 70% of Medicare beneficiaries are protected by hold harmless from rising premiums. .Third, Senator Casey's BENES Act (S. 1909) gained one new cosponsor in Senator Susan Collins (ME), bringing the cosponsor total to two in the Senate. If signed into law, S.1909 would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and help prepare those approaching Medicare eligibility by educating them about the program's benefits. .Benefit reductions due to your age. — Since you were born in 1952, your age for receiving full, unreduced Social Security benefits is 6That holds true for survivors benefits, as well as for your own retirement benefit. So assuming you start benefits in December at age 64, the amount you would receive for starting benefits before your full retirement age will be reduced — almost 10%. (When you start benefits early you get less but you theoretically receive them over a longer period of time.) But that's not the only reduction. … Continued

  • Whats Your 2016 Social Security Check Missing About 153

    Raising Medicare Age Would Save 500 Billion Dollars .Congress should allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices by tying U.S. prices to prices paid in other industrialized countries like Canada, Great Britain and Japan where prices are lower. — 85 percent support, 13 percent not sure, and only 2 percent opposed. .The study found that a person who retired in 2000 — with an average Social Security benefit of 6 per month — would have ,246.20 per month by 2020. However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require a Social Security benefit of 0.00 more per month, or a total of ,626.20 in 2020, just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power. … Continued

Depending on health, and type of Medigap coverage, seniors would get hit with up to ,100 per year in new costs that were previously covered by their health plan. .How to Protect Yourself and Others ."Even though Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket drug costs are the fastest growing and biggest financial challenge in retirement, that growth is not accounted for in the annual COLA," Johnson says. The consumer price index used to calculate the COLA for retirees reflects the spending pattern of young urban workers, and explicitly excludes people over the age 6But younger workers don't get Medicare, and spend a much lower portion of their incomes on healthcare. .As we suspected, Congress has now officially admitted they won't finish their work on time and once again will have to pass what amounts to emergency legislation to keep the government open. Actually, to say it was emergency legislation is probably not accurate because operating this way has become fairly normal now. .Inflation has been at historic lows in recent years and seniors received a 1.7 percent COLA this year. "For every 0 worth of expenses seniors could afford in 2000, they can afford just today," says study author and Advisor editor Mary Johnson. .At the time of writing this week's update, neither chamber had voted on the omnibus spending bill, but its passage is expected before funding runs out on Tuesday, December 22nd. A vote in the House is scheduled for Friday morning, and lawmakers in the Senate will likely take it up shortly thereafter, potentially as early as Friday afternoon. President Obama signaled his support for the spending package on Wednesday, which means he plans to sign it into law if it is sent to his desk. .By Shannon Benton, Executive Director .By U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz (PA-13) .New retirees often fail to understand just how rising Medicare costs can result in less Social Security income than anticipated. The Social Security Administration automatically deducts premiums for Medicare Part B from Social Security benefits. This year, the Part B premium is 4.00 per month for retirees with incomes under ,000 and the Medicare Trustees estimate it will rise to 5.50 for 2019.