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  • Category Tips For Seniors Savings Page 2

    Early Efforts to Hold Congress to Its Promise Leads to a Notch Commission .Some MA plans, including UnitedHealth – the largest provider of MA coverage – have already begun modifying their offerings in order to accommodate the increasing financial pressure. Last year, UnitedHealth dropped thousands of physicians from its networks, which left many enrollees doctor-less. Without much notice, they had to either find new physicians, or pay more out-of-pocket to see their former, trusted and out-of-network doctors. Because the open enrollment period had already ended, seniors were unable to change plans in order to keep their physicians and their low costs. .With only six weeks to go before the December 13th deadline, it remains to be seen which path the budget conference will take. Leaders of the conference announced on Wednesday that the next public meeting will be held on November 13th, but most of the work will likely occur behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Regardless, TSCL will continue to monitor the evolving budget negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued

  • I Turn 65 This Year How Much Will I Need For Medicare

    Over 3 million Notch Babies have joined TSCL's grassroots fight for Notch Reform, by adding their names to the TSCL Notch Reform Registry. The registry acts as a list of senior Americans who are on record as supporting Notch reform and want Members of Congress to pass "The Notch Fairness Act" (H.R.1001) introduced by Representative Mike McIntyre (NC-7) and (S. 118) introduced by Senator David Vitter (LA). .Hang up if a stranger asks for personal or financial information. .Social Security's "full" retirement age is the age at which you qualify for full, un-reduced benefits. It's based on your date of birth, so it varies for everyone. In 1983, Congress enacted changes that very gradually raised the full retirement age to age 67 by the year 202The full retirement age for people born between 1943 and 1954 is 6For those born in 1955 it is 66 and 2 months and it goes up 2 months per year for those born between 1956 and 195For people born in 1960 and thereafter, the full retirement age is 67. … Continued

And the American government has no effective way to fight back. ."The loss of a job not only means the loss of income, but it also can mean the loss of healthcare benefits, and both employee and employer contributions to retirement accounts," Johnson notes. Depending on how long older workers remain out work, a growing number may turn to Social Security and file claims for benefits earlier than originally planned. That can mean permanently reduced benefits for people who haven't reached their full retirement age. .You may be surprised to learn that Members of Congress, and their congressional staff, receive their employer-sponsored insurance through Obamacare. Their health benefits would also be affected by an Obamacare repeal as well — but unlike your sister and millions of other Americans, Members of Congress already have high quality health insurance to replace their Obamacare plans. In fact, the premium costs of some Members of Congress could go down as they transition back to getting insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). .In the midst of all this, a new study by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) found that the drop in average wages in recent years coupled with no cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs), and projections of extremely low COLAs, is reducing the amount retirees can count on in Social Security benefits over their retirement. .On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved legislation that would repeal and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which is the flawed formula that is currently used to determine reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. The SGR regularly calls for steep pay cuts for doctors and other providers, threatening beneficiaries' access to medical care. .Because your former son in-law was employed prior to applying for benefits, he was likely approved for SSDI. The program provides benefits to more than 10.9 million disabled beneficiaries, including some spouses and dependent children. To qualify for SSDI, the Social Security Administration determines whether applicants are unable to do any work because of a medical condition that is expected to last more than one year, or to result in death. Beneficiaries receive monthly payments for as long as they remain in the program. If disabled people live to their full retirement age, they transfer to the Social Security retirement program but their benefits do not change. They also qualify for Medicare benefits after a 2-year waiting period. .Source: "The 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook," The Congressional Budget Office, June 2018. .The Grassley-Wyden package would create a rebate system in Medicare Part B and Part D beginning in 2022 for brand-name drugs and biological products with prices that increase faster than inflation. Conservative groups and some Senate Republicans have opposed the rebate system for Part D, the prescription drug benefit program, but not for Part B, the outpatient services program. .It would permanently set the Social Security Administration's administrative funding at 1.5 percent of overall benefit payments, more than doubling the funding that the administration currently receives.