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  • Comprehensive Immigration Reform Testimony Before Congress

    Earnings from work could cause Social Security to withhold your benefits. Should you be successful in your job search, your earnings could affect what you receive in Social Security benefits. Social Security will deduct in benefits for every you earn above the annual limit, which is adjusted annually and is ,720 in 201If for example, you started a job and earn ,000 in 2017, you would earn ,280 more than the exempt ,720. That means Social Security with withhold about ,140 in benefits. If you are receiving a reduced survivors monthly benefit of 5, or ,100 annually, then you would receive only 0 in benefits for the entire year of 201You would receive no benefits at all for 10 months out of the year. .As you have learned, there's a long lag time between the year you earned the money and when you get the notice from Social Security. Social Security makes the adjustments based on your W2s and tax returns. Making matters worse, the earnings limit is adjusted annually and was even lower in prior years. In 2018 the limit was ,040 and in 2017, ,920. In addition, the notice you received would likely only pertain to one year of earnings, and you possibly could receive a similar notice next year and go through the process of withheld benefits all over again. .The IRS also issued similar warnings about coronavirus imposter scams related to stimulus checks, overdue payments, filing extensions and other tax related topics. … Continued

  • Best Ways Save August 2018

    TSCL is working to convince Congress to enact a bill that provides an emergency COLA. The organization supports the Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act (S. 2251, H.R. 4144), which would provide Social Security beneficiaries with a one-time emergency COLA of 3.9 percent. For the average retiree, the emergency COLA would amount to around 0 dollars. To learn more, visit . . Contact your doctor's office and alert them to this dilemma. Ask if they have emergency samples of Lantus and your blood pressure medicine that they can provide, or if they can give you the contact number of programs that can help you. .Yes, of course, Americans' health is priceless, and reining in a deadly virus that has trashed the economy would be invaluable. … Continued

Now, allergy season has arrived and in the United States as many as 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of kids have seasonal allergies. .I worked in a California city police department for 30 years and I'm now entitled to a pension. For the past 8 years, I've also paid into Social Security for self-employment earnings from a small company that I own. My accountant tells me that, in order to qualify for Social Security benefits, I should continue to work at my company and send in in two more years' worth of taxes. Will this be worth it? .TSCL's Board of Trustees Meets with Members of Congress .Notch Reform continues to be a major priority of seniors who turn 85 to 94 this year. After so many years of receiving lower Social Security benefits than other seniors having similar work and earnings histories, is it any wonder that the majority of "Notch Babies" believe Congress is waiting for the issue to quietly die away? .TSCL believes this is good news for the Social Security and Medicare systems, but there is no doubt that if the deferred taxes are never re-paid, it will cause major damage to both programs. .Irene is the first to say she wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to figuring out the best deal for her drug coverage. To accomplish this she gets unbiased advice and counseling. Her neighbor, Mary Johnson, is a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Johnson, who has assisted seniors to compare and enroll in plans since the start of Part D in 2006, says "the cost differences between plans can be huge - Irene saved about ,276 in 2011 alone." .Increase the taxable maximum wages. Raise the maximum wages upon which Social Security is paid, currently 6,800. .However, there are several steps an importer would have to take to be certified to import the drugs and they are costly. If the current FDA rules are kept in place it could be that states would not see significant savings in the costs of drugs, or even enough savings to justify the cost of setting up such a program. .Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (AL) told reporters this week that a government shutdown later this month is a real possibility. He said: "This could make us all come together or it could drive us further apart. We don't know yet … I've been here on Christmas Eve."