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  • Congressional Corner We Can Ensure Social Security And Medicare Work There Are Ways To Do Both

    Action on Capitol Hill this past week was limited as Congress re-convenes this week. Meanwhile, a Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) report indicates the effects of House member office budget cuts, and the Congressional Budget Office released a report that would save Medicare 500 billion dollars. .Mexican consulate officials are informing people about the availability of such benefits.Survivor claims are increasing due to recent violence in Mexico. .Would the money spent on life insurance premiums be better invested in an annuity or other investment? Some types of life insurance can be cost prohibitive. Your best investment is to get unbiased advice from a fee-only certified financial professional who does not get a commission from selling life insurance policies, before dumping your life insurance, or taking out any new policies. … Continued

  • Strange Medicare Cases

    According to a survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), 70% of older Americans think Social Security's solvency should be improved by scrapping the Social Security taxable wage limit of 8,500. .I'm Entitled to a Pension for Work as a City Cop… .This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw three critical bills – the Credit for Caring Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act – gain new cosponsors on Capitol Hill. … Continued

The future of the AHCA remains uncertain in the House, and in the Senate, lawmakers have been even more cautious about its prospects. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (TX) said: "Once [House lawmakers] pass the bill, my assumption is, the Senate's going to take a look at it but not necessarily be rubber-stamping what they're proposing. I would anticipate that we'll do what we used to do all the time which is, the House will pass a bill, we'll pass a bill, and then we'll reconcile those in a conference committee." .What Kind Of Health Insurance Do Members of Congress Get? .We urge you to contact Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act." Suggest that by cutting the rate of improper payments due to waste, fraud and abuse, your elected lawmakers can correct the most improper payment of all, the disparity in benefits caused by the Notch and erroneous government assumptions. .As with nearly every other aspect of our lives, the coronavirus has changed the agenda of Congress. Discussion of a fourth big spending bill to deal with the pandemic began this week and all three sides (House, Senate, and the President) have set out their preliminary positions. .The next twelve months is one of the most critical periods for the nation's seniors and disabled who receive Social Security and Medicare. The failure of a special Joint Committee of Congress known as the "super committee," means automatic budget cuts totaling billions of dollars that are scheduled to kick in by 2013 unless Congress enacts different plans. Although Social Security and Medicaid appear to have escaped the knife for now, billions in Medicare spending would be cut from payments to hospitals and other providers. .Indeed, during the 2005 debate over Social Security reform, one of the leading proposals would make changes to the benefit formula similar to those made in 197The proposal would tie the calculation of the initial retirement benefit to changes in price inflation. According to an analysis of a leading proposal by the Congressional Budget Office, when benefits are charted on a graph as shown here, they illustrate a "precipitous decline" in benefits and an all too familiar "V" shaped Notch. .The Senior Citizens League supports your right to avoid unwanted direct mail. If you no longer want to receive mailings from The Senior Citizens League, you can opt out by contacting us at comments@ and telling us, "No mail please." Be sure to include your name and mailing address as it appears on the mail you are receiving from The Senior Citizens League. .Social Security is the largest single source of income for older Americans, providing the majority of income for half of retirees, and at least 90% of income for 18% of retirees, according to another think tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. .Compounding the problem, in 2004 the U.S. and Mexico signed a totalization agreement allowing people who split their careers between two countries to receive a harmonized retirement benefit from the two governments. Since 1978, the U.S. has entered into similar agreements with 21 countries, and, as with previous agreements, the U.S.- Mexico totalization agreement applies only to legal U.S. residents.