News

  • Social Securitys Gruesome Fraud Management Failures

    Reports are coming in across the country of a new Social Security scam. Scammers use a threatening tone saying that due to illegal activity (such as an "account breach") your Social Security account has been "compromised" and will be closed unless you call a phone number to address the issue. .Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts this week for Tuesday's mid-term elections. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill to begin the "lame duck" session on Wednesday, November 12th, following the Veterans Day holiday. .It came in the mid-1950s, before health insurance for outpatient care was common, before new drugs were protected by multiple patents, and before medical research was regarded as a way to become rich. It was not patented because it was not considered patentable under the standards at the time. … Continued

  • 2016 Tscl Submits Statement For The Record On Drug Price Increases To House Oversight And Government Reform Committee

    What do you think? Seniors are invited to participate in TSCL's annual 2014 Senior Survey. For a free 8-page special issue of TSCL's Best Ways to Save, send to cover postage and handling with your name and address to The Senior Citizens League, 1001 N. Fairfax St. 101, Alexandria, VA 22314. .As prices. Low COLA & 038; COVID-19 Costs Could Trigger A Medicare Premium Spike When the Social Security Administration announced that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2016 would be zero, a stunning thing occurred. The Medicare Trustees projected that the monthly Part B premium would increase by an unprecedented .50 (52%) between 2015 and 2016— from 4.90 to 9.30 per month. What does this have to do with the. Retirement Benefits Could Be Subject To "Inaccurate CPI Information" TSCL is forecasting a 1.3% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 202Our forecast is based on the most recent consumer price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (through August) and uses the same formula that the Social Security Administration uses to calculate the annual inflation boost. .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. … Continued

Since 1980, the BLS has manipulated the CPI several times so that it no longer measures price inflation. Rather, it measures an ever-changing "market basket" of goods that is adjusted as prices drop and increase. It assumes that shoppers will purchase chicken when steak becomes too expensive, or apples instead of oranges when their prices drop. This has resulted in a more slowly growing COLA for Social Security beneficiaries. Instead of allowing seniors to keep up with rising costs, today's COLA requires them to constantly adjust to lower standards of living. .Finally, two new cosponsors – Reps. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) and Juan Vargas (CA-51) – signed on to the Empowering Encore Entrepreneurs (E3) Act (H.R. 4613), bringing the total up to four. If signed into law, the E3 Act would direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to increase training and mentoring efforts for older entrepreneurs. More than 7 million older Americans are currently self employed, but many of them lack the training and technical expertise that is necessary in order to see success. By expanding outreach efforts, the SBA can help empower seniors and enhance their ability to revitalize the economy. .However, there is and has been an alternative. A bipartisan Senate bill backed by Trump stopped short of giving Medicare bargaining power but would have limited annual price increases and capped costs for older people. The bill passed out of a Senate committee but was never brought to the full body, again because Majority Leader McConnell has refused to do so. .This week, Members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill from the month-long summer recess to begin working on legislation that would avert a government shutdown on October 1st – the start of the 2014 fiscal year. Lawmakers have agreed that they would like to pass a stopgap bill to extend funding for federal programs through December 15th. They feel that a temporary measure will grant them the time needed to work out a more substantial fiscal package before the end of this year. .One of the options to address Social Security that appears to have widespread support is increasing the Social Security retirement age. Raising the age at which people would be eligible for unreduced Social Security benefits has been discussed by policy "wonks" for years, but has largely remained out of the discussion with the general public. However, this summer two high-ranking Members of Congress spotlighted the topic in a rare public airing that was discussed in the media and the general public. Within a week of each other, Rep. John Boehner (OH-8), the House Minority Leader, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5), the House Majority Leader, both advocated raising the Social Security retirement age. .The federal government shutdown that occurred from midnight December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019, was the longest in U.S. history. It was so disruptive that an analysis from Standard and Poor's (S & P) estimated that the shut down cost the U.S. economy .6 billion. While the government shutdown was terrible for all affected, failing to raise the U.S. debt limit, also called the debt ceiling, could make the recent shut down look like a tea party. .This week, discussions to fund the federal government past September 30th – the end of the fiscal year – seemed to stall. Leaders in the House and Senate told reporters last week that they planned to take up a short-term continuing resolution (CR) by September 21st. However, this week, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said many important details remain up in the air, and the timeline has shifted. .What Could A COLA of No Less Than 3 Percent Mean For You? .One glitch that trapped working seniors during the 2010 tax season involved the 0 economic stimulus payment beneficiaries received if they were getting Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), railroad retirement or veterans' disability compensation. The 0 payment reduced the Making Work Pay Tax Credit that working seniors could claim to a maximum of 0 (individual) or 0 (joint). The IRS withholding tables that employers used in 2009 and 2010, however, did not adjust for those payments. Compounding the problems for seniors, the problematic IRS withholding tables also allowed reduced withholdings for pensions — even though pension income was not even eligible for the credit.