News
-
Seniors Lose 31 Percent Of Their Buying Power Since 2000
If signed into law, H.R. 973 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. .A bigger portion of Social Security benefits is likely to become taxable for many older taxpayers in coming years, because newly enacted tax law ties the tax brackets and standard deduction to a more slowly - growing consumer price index — the chained Consumer Price Index. "That will mean tax brackets and the standard deduction will rise more slowly and a greater portion of income may be subject to taxation," Johnson says. .By Noah Y. Kim SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 Kaiser Health News … Continued
-
Q A November 2019
Individuals with incomes below ,000, and whose Part B premiums are automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits, are protected from a reduction in their Social Security benefits when Part B premiums increase more than their Social Security benefits. The provision was triggered twice in recent years, in 2016 when there was no COLA, and in 2017 when the COLA was just 0.3%. .Low-income beneficiaries who receive Medicaid in addition to Medicare. State Medicaid programs pay the Part B premiums for people who qualify due to low income and resources. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are approximately 10 million dually-eligible beneficiaries representing about two-thirds of those who are not protected by hold harmless. .The U.S. – Mexico Totalization Agreement—which was signed by the Social Security Administrations of both the U.S. and Mexico in 2004, and is due to undergo review by the current or future President(s)—continues to pose a threat to Social Security beneficiaries. Because of a loophole, if the President signs the final Executive Totalization Social Security Agreement with Mexico, it could lead to Social Security benefits going to individuals who worked in the U.S. while illegal. … Continued
"We believe this unannounced policy of increased enforcement is irresponsible," said Representative Gil Gutknecht (MN) in a letter to the FDA and Customs. Gutknecht also said that the seizures violate the will of Congress, which has for three years denied FDA funding for the purpose of preventing reimportation of prescription drugs for personal use. .In fact, according to TSCL's annual survey of senior costs, Social Security benefits have lost more than one-third of their buying power since 2000 because COLAs underpay recipients. TSCL supports using the CPI-E to determine COLAs that better take into account the spending patterns of older people. For well over a decade, TSCL has lobbied Congress to make the COLA more fair and accurate. TSCL is mobilizing seniors nationwide to contact Members of Congress. .However, one week ago a federal judge in California issued a ruling stopping the implementation of the rule because of the "government's failure to complete the notice and comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act." .Each month, due to the Social Security Act Amendments that were signed into law in 1977, more than 3.7 million Notch babies receive Social Security checks that are lower than the benefits they originally anticipated. Last year, Representative Mike McIntyre (NC-7) introduced the Notch. Benefit Bulletin: June 2012 "Tough Choices" — Payroll Tax Cut For Illegals Or Notch Reform? .Please participate in the 2019 Senior Survey! .One further reason for the growth is undoubtedly the growth in the primary beneficiary rolls, upon which the benefits of ANP dependents and survivors are based. According to the Inspector General, older non-citizens workers are now at the age and have worked in this country long enough to be potentially eligible to file claims for retirement or disability. The Inspector General has also said that those who worked using invalid, or non-work Social Security numbers issued prior to January 1, 2004, did not need valid work authorization in order to file a claim. Under current law the Social Security Administration uses all earnings, including those for illegal work, to determine entitlement to benefits. .Critics of mandatory arbitration say the agreements stack the deck against long term care residents and consumers. Unlike civil suits which go to court, arbitration is private, and there's no judge or jury. There are no rules of evidence that arbitrators have to follow under the law, and there's no oversight. Critics also contend that consumers are less likely to win their cases in private arbitration and, if they do win, they tend to get much less money than they would in court. .More than 30% of all Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans last year. The federal government pays plans a monthly fee to deliver all their healthcare needs — a fee that's based for the most part on risk scores. In 2015 plans like Humana received on average about ,900 per person for the year. According to government estimates, Medicare made nearly billion in improper payments to Medicare Advantage plans from 2008 through 2013, mostly due to inflated risk scores. .The "grandparent scam" has been around for a while, where a scammer poses as a relative, often a grandchild, in a desperate situation in urgent need of money. Due to the economic crisis created by the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission has worked to raise the awareness of the grandparent scam.
