News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending October 27 2017

    It remains my goal in the 110th Congress to ensure that our Social Security system remains solvent and available to those who have spent a lifetime legally accruing benefits. I will continue to oppose international agreements that risk costing America's seniors their retirement security. In addition, I will continue to advocate an enforcement-first approach to immigration policy. Only when we have the mechanisms in place to effectively stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. can we begin to address the strain they place on our financial resources, including the Social Security system. .New Virus Relief Bill Could Affect Social Security and Medicare .The benefit reduction would be caused by a feature of the Social Security benefit formula that is sensitive to economic recessions and high unemployment. The first step in calculating benefits is to adjust the individual's earnings using the average wage index (AWI) in order to convert the value of past earnings into today's dollars. The AWI is also used to adjust the earnings levels that determine the portion of their average monthly earnings that people are allowed to keep as their benefit. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending July 6 2018

    For the last few weeks we have reported on President Trump's executive order to allow employers to defer payroll taxes owed by workers, which funds Social Security and Medicare. TSCL is opposed to payroll tax cuts of any kind because they seriously jeopardize the financial viability of both programs. .The aggressive collection efforts resulted from a one-line change tucked into the 2008 Farm Bill lifting the statute of limitations. The U.S. Treasury seized a reported .9 billion in tax refunds this year alone — million of that was for debts more than 10 years old. The Social Security Administration says that 400,000 taxpayers collectively owe 4 million in debts that are more than 10 years old. .Today's working women, even those who worked in the same positions as men, tend to earn less during their working careers. The Economic Policy Institute reports that to every dollar a man makes, women of Asian descent earn 88 cents, Caucasian women make 81 cents, African American women make 65 cents, and Hispanic women make 59 cents. This only worsens the low lifetime earnings problem. … Continued

However, the statisticians behind it at the University of Washington have since changed their methods, and they now estimate that doing away with social distancing measures could entail vast numbers of deaths, and that widespread mask-wearing in public could save tens of thousands of lives. .Two Cosponsors Sign on to Key Bill .Fraudulent Use of Social Security Numbers Is Not Penalized ."We're not doing anything without a payroll tax cut," Trump said in a "virtual town hall" event hosted by Fox News at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington earlier this week. .Candidates campaign for office saying they don't support cutting Social Security benefits of current retirees, or those close to retirement. Yet the two recently - enacted changes went into effect almost immediately after passage. People who are under the age of 66 by the end of April 2016 may no longer use file and suspend, and those who were under the age of 62 by the end of 2015 will no longer be able to use restricted applications for spousal benefits. .We end the update this week with some hopeful news regarding Alzheimer's disease. According to a report from National Public Radio, there is evidence that vaccines that protect against the flu and pneumonia may actually protect people from Alzheimer's, too. The evidence comes from two studies presented last Monday at this year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which is being held as a virtual event. .New Analysis Says Social Security/Medicare in Worse Shape Now than Earlier This Year .In the past five years the annual adjustment has averaged just 1.4 percent — less than half the 3 percent average of the prior two decades starting in 1990. Retirees and disabled Social Security recipients are reporting that the COLA is doing a poor job of what it's intended to do — protecting the buying power of their Social Security benefits. According to an annual survey performed by TSCL, Social Security benefits have lost 31 percent of their buying power since 2000. .Increase income. On average, older Americans get about 34% of their total income from Social Security; 33% from earnings; 11% from personal assets such as money in IRAs, 401(k) plans and taxable accounts, and 22% from pensions. To boost income, they could invest more aggressively in higher-yielding and perhaps more risky assets, such as long-term bonds and high-dividend-paying stocks; go back to work; or if they are still working, take on more hours.