News

  • Legislative Update Retirement Age

    Most people don't know where to begin, and the process is designed to overwhelm you before you start. You, however, do not have to be one of these people. All you need to do is to call and set up a free counseling session with a local Medicare benefits counselor. Do this NOW. Locate the program in your area on the State Health Insurance Program website — https://www.shiptacenter.org. .We need to focus on putting the "Security" back into Social Security, and providing real relief from rising Medicare costs, by avoiding double digit premium increases to begin with. Congress can accomplish both by providing an emergency COLA in 202That one action would negate the need for any Medicare Part B premium cost shifting and double-digit premium increases. Providing a benefit boost would also reduce the need to adjust Part B premiums for those with the lowest benefits in the future. .The situation can be potentially dangerous for Medicare beneficiaries and their families. If you are approached or receive a call by someone offering money, free services, free groceries, free transportation or TVs for your Medicare number, say no. If you suspect fraud, Medicare has an area on its website where you can report fraud. … Continued

  • Scotus Strengthens Social Security

    What do you think? Seniors are invited to participate in TSCL's annual 2014 Senior Survey. For a free 8-page special issue of TSCL's Best Ways to Save, send to cover postage and handling with your name and address to The Senior Citizens League, 1001 N. Fairfax St. 101, Alexandria, VA 22314. .(Washington, DC) – Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) would need to double their rate of growth and Medicare Part B premium increases would need to slow by half their historic rate to provide greater Social Security benefit adequacy, says a new report from The Senior Citizens League. Using the federal government's economic projections for the Social Security COLA and Medicare Part B premium estimates over the next decade, the study examined how well Social Security benefits would cover Part B premiums increases in coming years. .Spending Deal Reached by Congress … Continued

Some policy analysts argue that the "chained" CPI is more accurate, but the Congressional Budget Office has stated that using that index has limitations. Unlike the conventional consumer price index in which final data from one month to the next is available in about two weeks, final data for the chained CPI isn't available until well over a year and a half. "That means preliminary estimates that are subject to error would have to be used for indexing," Johnson explains. .In 2017, there was a tiny 0.3% COLA and raising Sally's benefit from ,000 to ,00But in 2017 the Medicare Part B premium took a stiff jump to Once again, because the COLA was so low, Sally's share of the Medicare premium was adjusted downward so that her Social Security benefit would not be reduced. However, virtually all of her .00 per month COLA was put toward the increased Part B premium, and today Sally pays a monthly Part B premium of 7.90. .The bad news: there's still plenty of age discrimination in the workplace. When workers over age 50 lose their jobs, it takes them much longer to find new jobs. And the impact of a layoff is bigger for older workers. These folks face the reality that they may not work again full time, which can wreck a retirement plan. Studies show that household wealth typically takes a hit as high as 23 percent for single people and 19 percent for married couples. .If your husband's company had 20 or more employees, and your husband's former employer still has the same health coverage, you and your husband may have the option to temporarily continue to get healthcare coverage under your husband's former employer plan as provided by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). That coverage now, however, is likely to be more expensive than it was while your husband was an active employee, and it's only a short-term option. These are two reasons why both you and your spouse should explore other options promptly. .Prescription Drug Re-Importation – Making safe, secure re-importation a reality. ."The bill does nothing at all to reduce or eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits that burdens more than half of all retiree households," Johnson notes. Yet the tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest households in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act will add an estimated .5 trillion to the national debt. Some conservative Members of Congress say they are planning a budget that would require mandatory spending cuts to reduce the debt next year. ."There is no substitute for boots on the ground — for going into a facility to assess whether a facility is abiding by long-standing infection control practices," Verma told reporters this month. .With about 1 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., 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 TREA The Enlisted Association. Please visit or call 1-800-333-8725 for more information. .Where this leaves the President's policy at this point is not clear, but it is highly unlikely the program will be able to move forward while Trump is still in office. Whether President Biden will withdraw the plan or seek to modify it through negotiations with Canada remains to be seen.