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  • Category Issues Medicare Part D Articles Page 5

    Under current law, employers withhold 6.2% in Social Security taxes from workers' earnings — an amount that employers match for a total of 12.4%. That money goes to the U.S. Treasury and is used to pay benefits to today's retirees. About 85 percent of all employees, pay Social Security taxes on every dollar earned. .In a statement that was released on Thursday, Mary Johnson – Policy Analyst for The Senior Citizens League – said: "The bottom line is that Medicare Part B premiums rise several times faster than COLAs, and those premiums are now high enough to cause the net Social Security benefits of millions of people to remain flat for years at a time … This would make the fourth year in a row that this particular group has not seen a boost in their net Social Security benefits." .Why Mothers and Wives Can Receive Less in Social Security … Continued

  • Q September 2018

    We worked with members of Congress who supported ending the practice, although we were unable to get legislation passed. One of our key allies in the fight was Sen. Lamar Alexander (R- Tenn.). He was a champion of our cause but, unfortunately, he is retiring at the end of this year. We will certainly miss his leadership on the issue but we pledge to continue to fight to end the practice in 2021. .TSCL Delivers Hundreds Of Thousands Of Petitions .After a much-anticipated mid-term election and an active "lame duck" session on Capitol Hill, the 114th Congress has officially begun and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is gearing up for another busy year. With the November elections behind them, lawmakers will finally be able to focus on some of the complex policy issues that sit high on their agendas, like deficit reduction, Social Security reform, and an overhaul of the immigration system. … Continued

TSCL's all-volunteer Board of Trustees and legislative team – including former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk – look forward to working with both new and veteran lawmakers on the issues that are important to senior citizens, like those mentioned above. We will work tirelessly in the 113th Congress to ensure that seniors receive the retirement security they have earned and deserve. .We end the update this week with some hopeful news regarding Alzheimer's disease. According to a report from National Public Radio, there is evidence that vaccines that protect against the flu and pneumonia may actually protect people from Alzheimer's, too. The evidence comes from two studies presented last Monday at this year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which is being held as a virtual event. .TSCL enthusiastically supports the bills mentioned above, and we look forward to helping build support for them in the coming months. .Millions of Americans Forgoing Health Care .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 973), bringing the total up to 10The new cosponsors are: Reps. Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Andre Carson (IN-7), Michael Fitzpatrick (PA-8), and Brendan Boyle (PA-13). .The Senior Citizens League believes it is time to focus on the adequacy of Social Security benefits to meet rising Medicare costs. COLAs have been insufficient to cover the Part B premium in five out of the past ten years — 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, and 201This is a clear indication that Social Security COLA is not adequate, and not doing the job it was intended to do. . .Out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs was the fastest rising expense of retirees from 2000 to 2019, according to a recent study of retiree costs by TSCL. While the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increased Social Security benefits by 50 percent over the period, out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs rose more than five times faster — 253%. .Eight Ways to Lower Your Prescription Costs .Earnings reports with incorrect or incomplete information have been a long–standing problem. They can be caused by something as simple as a transposed Social Security number, or a name change when a woman gets married or divorced. Accurate earnings are critical in order to calculate benefits for workers and their dependents. The most recent data indicates there has been a significant jump in both the number of these mismatched reports and the value of wages. SSA Inspector General Patrick P. O'Carroll stated in testimony before Congress that "we believe the chief cause of wage items being posted to the [earnings suspense file] instead of an individual's earnings record is unauthorized work by noncitizens."(8)