News

  • June 2013 Abc News Center 10

    The Notch is closely connected to problems that arose the last time Congress overhauled the Social Security benefit formula in 197A transitional benefit formula was provided to phase in the changes, and protect those closest to retirement from abrupt benefit reductions. The transitional formula was flawed however, and failed to provide the promised protection. .Grassley to Push Hard in the Senate for his Drug Pricing Bill .The Senior Citizens League enthusiastically supports H.R. 2276, H.R. 4957, S. 2387, and S. 2671, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information about these and other TSCL-backed bills, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. … Continued

  • Comprehensive Proposals To Enhance Social Security Statement Submitted To Ways And Means Subcommittee

    On Thursday, with a vote of 326-96, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that will fund the federal government past December 9th. The short-term continuing resolution (CR) will provide funding at a .07 trillion rate – up slightly from the current rate of .067 trillion – through April 28, 2017. .Not surprisingly, TSCL surveys and email indicated that although Medicare costs continued to grow from 2010 to 2011, many seniors were forced to cut back and forego healthcare services. This undoubtedly was a major reason why government spending on Medicare remained relatively flat. The following table illustrates responses to a question from the TSCL 2011 Healthcare Cost Survey conducted in October 2011: .The CBO also notes that increasing the payroll tax rate or subjecting more earnings to the payroll tax could improve Social Security's financing. … Continued

Now that Congress has passed President Biden's Covid-19 relief bill it must turn its attention immediately to passing legislation to delay billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare. .Eight new Members of Congress signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1332) this week, bringing the cosponsor total up to 11If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the government pension offset (GPO) and the windfall elimination provision (WEP) of the Social Security Act. .Sen. Tom Harkin (IA) introduced S. 567 on March 14, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance. .As of 2019, one quarter of American adults had no retirement savings at all. Only 36 percent of non-retired American adults think that "their retirement saving is on track," according to the Federal Reserve's annual report. There is no question about it: our nation can do a better job of equipping and encouraging our senior citizens to be prepared for this next season of their lives and provide more opportunities for Americans to plan long-range. Part of this can be done at a policy level, by passing practical reforms that address the obstacles to saving that some Americans experience. We must also address this on a personal level, by ensuring more Americans are equipped with the knowledge and resources they need to effectively save for and secure their futures. .Will Medicare Soon Include Dental Coverage and More? .Newly Eligible People with Medicare .The savings compound over time and are huge. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that chaining the CPI would cut COLAs by 2 billion from 2012021 alone and, if used in other federal retirement programs and for indexing taxes, would reduce deficits by about 0 billion over the next decade. .Background Information: Social Security beneficiaries received another record-low cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of just 0.3% this year. But if the COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), they would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Question: Do you support legislation that would give older Americans a more fair and adequate Social Security COLA? .The 2017 COLA will likely be 0.3 percent says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst and researcher for TSCL. "And there's a chance that lower gas prices will drag the COLA down even further, to 0.2 percent," Johnson adds. Either way, the 2017 COLA is expected to raise Social Security benefits by only a few dollars, and any increase will be completely offset by stiff increases in the Medicare Part B premium for most people 65 and over.