News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending June 17 2016

    The agreement appears ambiguous on this issue, and TSCL has filed four Freedom of Information Act requests in order to obtain copies of estimates of the cost to Social Security. After receiving the first known copy of the agreement in December of 2006, which apparently had never been made public, even to Members of Congress, the battle to obtain key documents in federal court has continued for TSCL. According to the State Department, public disclosure of the withheld information would risk undermining U.S. efforts in important areas of U.S. foreign policy. TSCL rejects this and will ask the judge to look at documents to see if they have been properly withheld. Although current U.S. law forbids the payment of Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants, there are loopholes and exceptions. .TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 1030, H.R. 1795, and H.R. 2305, and we were pleased to see support grow for each one this week. .For those planning retirement however, it is the estimated dollar amount in Social Security benefits, not the replacement rate, that what one uses to determine a retirement budget, or how much more one will need to save for retirement. When one retires, it is the actual benefit amount, not the replacement rate that one must live on. One of the most frequent requests for services received by Social Security Administration is for an estimate of benefits. While no promises of benefits are made, millions of estimates are made annually. If the rules are changed abruptly, as they were for those born during the Notch period, this leaves no time to save for the shortfalls in benefits (if they can be foreseen ahead of time). … Continued

  • The Senior Citizens League Weekly Update For Week Ending March 13 2020

    My husband who is diabetic and has high blood pressure, underwent surgery for colon cancer in March of 2020. He recovered and returned to work last summer. Shortly thereafter he had a stroke. He's been unable to work and received short term disability benefits through his employer until coverage ended on December 31, 2020. Will he qualify for Social Security disability now? He will turn 63 in April 202 .Terry: The anchor takes on too much weight, swaying the decision in a particular direction. It can lead us to ignore or never even consider other options. In buying a used car, the sales price may be much higher than the car is worth. Yet we start there in haggling over what we'll pay, possibly paying only somewhat less than the price, and thinking we got a good deal when we did not. In the case of the charitable donation, we may feel guilty the more we consider giving less than the anchor ("suggested") amount. .How have you been affected by high Medicare Part B premium increases? To participate in a survey, visit The Senior Citizens League's website at . … Continued

The extensions will cost approximately 0 billion over ten years, and billion of that will be paid for by spending cuts and revenue increases. The remaining 0 billion, however, will be added to the budget deficit. .Capping the Part D out-of-pocket spending requirement is a key provision of the bi-partisan Senate drug bill, "Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019" (S.2543). "Several of the provisions of this bill appear to have broad support with Medicare beneficiaries," notes Mary Johnson, a Medicare and Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. The new survey found widespread support among survey participants for capping Medicare Part D out-of-pocket requirements at no more than 0 per month (,000) per year. About 36 percent of survey participants reported spending up to 0 per month on prescriptions in 2019, and another 21 percent spent more than that. .During the years in which inflation as measured by the CPI-W has been the highest, the difference between it and the chained CPI has been greatest. In 2008, for example, when the CPI-W paid a COLA of 5.8% the following year, the chained CPI would have only paid 5.2%, a difference of 0.6 of a percentage point. "And if the government were to use the initial chained CPI data to calculate COLAs for 2012, seniors would get just 2.7% instead of 3.6%, a difference of 0.9 of a percentage point," Hyland says. .Third, the bipartisan CHANGE Act (H.R. 4957) gained one new cosponsor in Representative Ted Lieu (CA-33), bringing the total up to twenty-two. If adopted, the CHANGE Act would promote early identification of Alzheimer's disease, improve support for family caregivers, and provide continuous care for those battling many forms of dementia. .Eleven new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty in the Senate and thirty in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are: Sen. John Boozman (AR), and Reps. Duncan Hunter (CA-50), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Dan Benishek (MI-1), Martha Roby (AL-2), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Thomas Rooney (FL-17), Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), and Edward Royce (CA-39). .In the weeks ahead, TSCL will continue to advocate for tax reforms that would benefit the financial security of older Americans, and we will post updates on the movement of the Ways and Means Committee's bill here in the Legislative News section of our website. For more information on TSCL's tax reform recommendations, click HERE. .In April, lawmakers on the Republican Study Committee proposed a budget blueprint that would have reformed the Medicare program and cut Social Security benefits by adopting the "chained" CPI, eliminating the COLA for some seniors, and raising the eligibility age. Did you support this budget blueprint, and if so, why? .In addition, you will need a plan to cover the portion of costs that Medicare does not pay which are considerable, either a Medicare supplement (Medigap plan) with a Part D plan for drug coverage or Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. Spending on Medicare and health insurance premiums comprise the biggest share of healthcare costs, nearly two-thirds of overall senior healthcare spending. .This week, five new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795), bringing the total up to one hundred and twenty-eight. The new cosponsors are Reps. Brian Higgins (NY-26), Greg Walden (OR-2), Andre Carson (IN-7), John Barrow (GA-12), and Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18). If signed into law, H.R. 1795 would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, fire fighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year.