News

  • The Senior Citizens League Press Release 3 10 20

    Government agencies will identify themselves. ."'We find no indication that these reductions in demand affect only ‘low-value' drugs; on the contrary, those at the highest risk of heart attack and stroke, who would benefit the most from statins and antihypertensives, cut back more on these drugs than lower-risk patients.'" .Medicare alone does not cover all the costs you will have. Most people also get either a Medicare supplement to cover out-of-pocket costs and Part D plan for prescription drugs, or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with Part D coverage. … Continued

  • Issues Social Security Reform Faqs Feed

    The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. .The Senior Citizens League can be reached via e-mail at comments@ or you can reach us by telephone at 800-333-TSCL (8725). Our mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League consists of vocally active senior citizens concerned about the protection of their Social Security, Medicare, and veteran or military retiree benefits. .But the money to cover beneficiaries' share of premium costs still needs to come from somewhere. That leaves the 30% of Part B enrollees who aren't protected by hold harmless to make up the difference through steeply higher Part B premiums. Many of those people are facing a steep Part B premium increase from 1.80 per month to an estimated 9.00, the highest increase in 27 years. Those not protected by the hold harmless provision include: … Continued

With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit for more information. .Did you wind up owing federal income tax last year or this tax season due to the effects of the Making Work Pay Tax Credit? TSCL is concerned that senior taxpayers were disproportionately affected by implementation problems of the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, and is conducting an online to survey to learn how they were affected. .Rep. DeFazio's No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act (H.R. 1029) also gained new cosponsors this week. Five Members of Congress signed on, bringing the total up to twenty-five. The new cosponsors are: Reps. Robert Scott (VA-3), Collin Peterson (MN-7), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), William Enyart (IL-12), and Barbara Lee (CA-13). The bill, if signed into law, would subject all income over 0,000 to the Social Security payroll tax. Currently, the payroll tax is capped at 3,700 and no income over that amount is taxed. Rep. DeFazio's bill would reportedly add at least fifty years to the solvency of the Trust Fund responsibly, without reducing benefits for seniors. .Resources: The Medicare Rights Center has an online tool called "Medicare Interactive" that can answer more of your questions about prescription drug coverage. Try it at www.MedicareInteractive.org. .Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turn 85 this year, while the oldest turn 9That's approximately 1.17 million. TSCL believes that roughly one quarter of Notch Babies receive Medicaid as well as Medicare. .Finally, locality pay is subject to the approval of the President, and thus subject to politics. In 2019, the average locality pay adjustment was 0.5%. The annual COLA was 2.8%. The calculation has also been challenged by economists and the nonpartisan CBO as not being accurate. What do you think about using locality pay adjustment rates to adjust Social Security? To send a comment or take a poll on this topic visit . .On Tuesday, TSCL's Legislative Analyst, Jessie Gibbons, attended the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's first public hearing. The Committee heard testimony from Doug Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). .However, it differs from the House version which means it must go back to the House to see if it will agree with the changes that were made. .Tax legislation enacted at the end of last year makes significant changes that touch virtually all taxpayers. While most of the new provisions have consequences for the 2018 tax year and thereafter, there are at least a few things that pertain to the 2017 tax returns of older taxpayers. (Remember, as always, nothing in this newsletter constitutes legal or tax advice. Please consult tax advisors with your tax questions and for assistance in making decisions.)