News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 5 2018

    Six Steps to Getting Six Month's Worth of Prescriptions for the Cost of Two. Get more mileage out of your drug coverage using these tried and true methods. They'll be lifesavers for you just like the thousands of seniors who have tried them. Editors, a full article with permission to reprint is available. .Up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits can be subject to taxation if an individual has a combined income of ,000 and married couples filing jointly have a combined income of ,000. Had income thresholds been adjusted for inflation, they would be about ,902 for individuals and ,515 for joint filers in 2020. "Combined income" is determined by adding one's adjusted gross income, plus any tax - free interest income, and one - half of Social Security benefits. .You should still delay domestic and international travel. If you do travel, you'll still need to follow CDC requirements and recommendations. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 23 2015

    This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) successfully hosted its first ever town hall meeting. Meanwhile, action on Capitol Hill remained slow as Members of both Houses of Congress remained in their home states and districts for the August recess. .The trillion Senate Republican stimulus proposal comes with a measure that could curb federal spending in the future by reducing costs tied to Social Security, Medicare, and highway trust funds. .Efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs have been taking place at the state level as well as at the national level. This week the New Mexico legislature sent a bill to their Governor that aims to make the state among the first to work with the federal government on wholesale drug importation from Canada. States including Vermont, Maine, Colorado, and Florida have passed similar bills.Backers said importing lower-cost drugs from Canada would help people who can't afford their prescriptions amid rising costs in the U.S. … Continued

This week, The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL) Board of Trustees and legislative team held meetings with several Members of Congress and their top staff. In addition, the Board of Trustees presented one Member of Congress – Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7) – with the 2012 Seniors Advocate Award. TSCL also saw support grow for a critical piece of legislation this week. .To identify people in the country illegally, Medicare relies on information from the Social Security Administration in order to deny claims. The Social Security Administration receives data from the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies but CMS doesn't always receive information relating to unlawful presence in a timely manner, according to the Inspector General. .In addition, if any efforts to transition to private accounts based Social Security succeed TSCL fears that, among other things, a new Notch could be created in the transition. Also, TSCL members generally believe that such approaches could further drain the Social Security Trust Fund. Finally, it is thought that a private accounts venture would be at least partially financed by cutting the benefits of current or soon-to-be retirees. Because TSCL believes that Social Security was developed and implemented to be a safety net, insurance and pension system, it strongly opposes changes to the current system which entail private accounts. .Lawmakers Work to Avoid Government Shutdown .What is the status of the Social Security Totalization Agreement With Mexico? .This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing on rising prescription drug costs. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw two key bills gain support in the House of Representatives. .As you have learned, there's a long lag time between the year you earned the money and when you get the notice from Social Security. Social Security makes the adjustments based on your W2s and tax returns. Making matters worse, the earnings limit is adjusted annually and was even lower in prior years. In 2018 the limit was ,040 and in 2017, ,920. In addition, the notice you received would likely only pertain to one year of earnings, and you possibly could receive a similar notice next year and go through the process of withheld benefits all over again. .The Social Security Fairness Act, if adopted, would make the Social Security program more equitable by repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These two provisions of law unfairly cut the Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state or local government employees, often by 40 percent or more. By repealing both provisions, the Social Security Fairness Act would ensure that public servants receive the Social Security benefits they have earned and deserve. .Last week the U.S. House of Representatives announced it will not implement the President's directive for employees of the House, joining major companies in rejecting the option.