News

  • Past Cola Changes Costing Seniors Thousands In Social Security Annually

    The campaign consisted of collecting and organizing TSCL-supporter signatures by each Congressional district. A personalized letter addressed to nearly each House Member was drafted to clearly convey the needs of our supporters and issue a call to action asking each office to look more closely at these issues. For those who have supported our causes in the past, these letters served as a "thank you" for their support. For many, however, the petitions signaled a clear and powerful message on behalf of their constituents that the time had come to make a concerted effort to stand up for seniors' rights. .I believe it is imperative that we fully support programs that protect the nation's most vulnerable, and ensure that they can easily access them in their time of need. The SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act will make great strides in that direction. .House Debates IPAB Repeal Bill … Continued

  • Q April 2018

    Recent healthcare cost data have the experts perplexed. According to a new analysis from actuaries of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, national healthcare spending in 2011 grew at just 3.9 percent. This is the third consecutive year it's grown so slowly, making it the slowest pace in the more than 50 years such data have been tracked. Federal officials don't know for sure if it's a temporary fluke due to prolonged recessionary effects, or part of a long-term trend. .More than ever before, it is critical that seniors make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. In the past two years, countless proposals to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits have been backed by deficit hawks in Congress. Recent plans have called for lower cost-of-living adjustments, increased Medicare means testing, a higher retirement age, and even the phasing out of Medicare altogether. The stakes are high for seniors, and with a critical election just months away, every voice counts. The stacks of petitions that our members signed were delivered along with a personalized letter addressed to each Member of Congress. The letters expressed appreciation to those who have already signed on as supporters of the key issues. To those who have not, however, they conveyed a powerful and urgent message and served as a call to action. .The Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1391), introduced by Representative John Larson (CT-1). Like the FAIR Social Security Act, this bill would base COLAs on the CPI-E. It would also provide a 2 percent benefit bump for the average beneficiary and create a new minimum benefit set at 25 percent above the poverty line. In addition, more than 11 million seniors would see a significant tax cut, since the bill would double the income threshold for the taxation of benefits from ,000 per individual to ,000, and from ,000 per couple to 0,000. … Continued

A study conducted by TSCL has found that Social Security benefits have lost 30 percent of buying power since 2000 over the same period that Medicare Part B premiums grew by 195 percent. Social Security benefits on the other hand have grown by only 43 percent. The findings represent an especially big loss in buying power of 7 percent from January of 2016 to January of 2017. .The income thresholds that subject benefits to taxation are based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income, which includes half of your Social Security benefits and some tax - exempt income. The following chart illustrates the thresholds and the amount of tax on Social Security income. .It is likely the President will face a legal challenge over these actions. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse and any changes to taxes or spending are supposed to come from Congress. .Richard "Rick" Delaney joined the United States Air Force in June of 196He served three tours of duty in Southeast Asia in 1966, 1969, and 1971 as well as two tours to Europe in Germany and England. He has been stationed in Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Wyoming, California Georgia and South Dakota. .Help! I'm turning 65 soon. My daughter says I should sign up for Medicare, but I don't know what to do or where to begin. I work for a small company with 17 employees, where I get my health insurance now. About a week is currently taken out of my paycheck for premiums. My current health coverage isn't that good. It has a ,500 deductible and, because I'm still in good health, I've never been able to benefit. .By way of a quick explanation, except for special circumstances, any legislation that goes through Congress has to start in the committee of jurisdiction, meaning the committee that deals with legislation pertaining to a specific subject. In the case of prescription drug legislation, those committees are Finance, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Appropriations. That's one of the reasons passing this legislation is so complicated. .These bills would enable retired school teachers, university employees and thousands of civil servants to receive all of the Social Security pensions for which they are entitled. A Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) have long limited the full aid that these beneficiaries merit. ."Miracle cures," which claim scientific breakthroughs or contain secret ingredients, are likely a hoax. .While most in Washington acknowledge this dilemma, and House Republicans have put forward a plan to address the issue, our leaders have yet to agree upon a solution to preserve the program for seniors beyond that date, and instead are pitting each other against seniors.