News
-
Benefit Bulletin April 2018
Notch Babies receive lower benefits than other seniors near to them in age with similar earnings histories. For example, in 2012, the average benefit of 95-year old Notch Babies was ,31Yet the average benefit of 96-year old seniors was ,390, a monthly difference of Under normal circumstances the benefits of retirees who are younger are usually slightly higher, because wages used to determine benefits tend to increase over time. This is not the case with people born during the Notch period. .My brother-in-law has a low income and is getting home healthcare services. Recently I stopped in and saw a fancy new TV. When asked where it came from, my brother-in-law said it was a rebate from the home healthcare agency. Does Medicare or Medicaid allow this? We live in South Florida. .The Medicare Hospital Trust Fund is Running Out of Money … Continued
-
Does The Social Security Cola Overpay Seniors Deficit Cutters Say Colas Need A Trim
In coming years, growing program cost pressures could mean that some illegals may benefit from the use of invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers at the expense of others who worked and paid into the system legally. TSCL's new 2014 Senior Survey found that 87 percent of respondents favor prohibiting payment of Social Security benefits calculated on earnings from unauthorized work by illegal immigrants. TSCL supports legislation that would prohibit earnings under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers from use in determining entitlement to Social Security benefits. .Source: James W. Kelley & Joseph R. Humphreys, "Congressional Intent Concerning The Notch Issue: Legislative Background of the 1977 Social Security Amendments," 1994.Source: Congressional Research Service May 24, 1999 .GAO found that many individuals do not fully understand that their benefits will continue to grow the longer they wait to collect them. In addition, GAO found that many field offices are not consistently providing the information individuals need to make informed decisions. As a result, many older Americans may begin collecting Social Security benefits earlier than necessary without knowing the financial consequences. … Continued
The Senior Citizens League believes that expanding "means testing" to Part D and freezing the income levels through 2019 is a backdoor benefit cut that will eventually affect even middle-income seniors. The chief reason is that as the economy grows over the next decade, the frozen income thresholds will not increase in-kind, subjecting many more seniors to the "means test." The Senior Citizens League estimates that given different inflation scenarios, individual seniors who made between ,000 and ,000 in 2010 could be subjected to the "means test" in 2019, because of the frozen income thresholds. In addition, if the income thresholds for the "means test" had been allowed to increase, (the case before the PPACA was signed into law), we estimate that they would have increased to an amount between 0,500 to 1,800 in 2019. .Increase the taxable maximum wages. Raise the maximum wages upon which Social Security is paid, currently 6,800. .Allow states, wholesalers, and pharmacies to import FDA-approved drugs from foreign countries and sell them in the U.S. Trump has long complained that countries where the government sets the price of drugs are taking advantage of American consumers. The order includes a special provision to allow wholesalers and pharmacies to re-import insulin and biological drugs. .TSCL strongly supports passage of the waiver legislation because of the potentially severe negative consequences they would eventually have on Medicare patients. .Seniors are often targeted for their money or identity, commonly with fraudsters asking seniors to send a payment through gift cards, by wire transfer, credit card, or other predatory schemes. Retailers, financial services providers, and wire transfer companies have undertaken efforts to do their part to stop their customers, including seniors, from being scammed. .Millions of Americans Forgoing Health Care .There could be several reasons that can cause sticker shock at the pharmacy. Here are some tips for checking the charges and understanding the costs associated with your new drug plan: .Chen cited two international flights from earlier stages of the pandemic where infection rates varied depending on mask use. On the first flight, no passengers were wearing masks, and a single passenger infected 14 people as the plane traveled from London to Hanoi, Vietnam. On the second flight, from Singapore to Hangzhou in China, all passengers were wearing face masks. Although 15 passengers were Wuhan residents with either suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, the only man infected en route had loosened his mask mid-flight and had been sitting close to four Wuhan residents who later tested positive for the virus. .Sources: "Social Security The Notch Issue," GAO-HRD-88-62, March 1988, page 1Financial Management, Challenges in Meeting Requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act, GAO-05-417, March 200"Annual Statistical Survey 2004, Social Security Administration, Table 5.A.1.
