News

  • Benefit Bulletin August 2021

    At Tuesday's committee meeting, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (WI-1) referred to the board as "unelected bureaucrats that could cut Medicare's payments to doctors and essentially ration care." TSCL shares these concerns about the IPAB – we fear its recommendations could result in increased costs for beneficiaries or decreased access to quality medical care. .Did your husband work in 2020? If his earnings averaged more than ,260 per month, he generally would not be considered disabled. .The Senior Citizens League's members nation-wide agree that the elimination of the medical expense deduction would be a significant loss for those living on fixed incomes. I encourage lawmakers to keep this critical tax deduction in place and to take a stand for older and disabled Americans as tax reform discussions continue in the days and weeks ahead. … Continued

  • Social Security Medicare Questions August 2011 Advisor Feed

    Support Grows for Key Bill .Congress is considering comprehensive immigration reform that would provide work authorization and with it, valid Social Security numbers, to an estimated 12 million immigrants working in this country illegally.(3) In 2004 Congress passed the Social Security Protection Act (P.L. 108-203) requiring immigrants to have work authorization at the time a SSN is assigned or at some later time, in order to become entitled under Social Security. (4) .If you have been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms. … Continued

Cost-of-living increases are based on the nation's general rate of inflation, and the prices for the goods and services used to calculate inflation have barely budged. .Florida's contact tracing program has been mired in controversy over reports that it is understaffed and ineffective. For instance, CNN called 27 Floridians who tested positive for COVID-19 and found that only five had been contacted by health authorities. (The Florida Department of Health did not respond to requests for an interview.) .Now that Congress has passed President Biden's Covid-19 relief bill it must turn its attention immediately to passing legislation to delay billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare. .That report estimates the Social Security trust fund could be depleted by 2030, five years earlier than the official government estimate, because of the recession and long-term near-zero interest rates triggered by the pandemic. .On Tuesday, with a vote of 31-8, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act (H.R. 1190) – a bill that TSCL supports enthusiastically. H.R. 1190, if signed into law, would repeal the controversial Medicare cost-cutting board that was created by the ACA back in 2010. .I've heard a lot of confusing advice on when to start Social Security. I'm divorced, single, and I turn 63 this year. I know that by waiting, my benefit will grow, but I'm not sure how much longer I will have my job. I need to augment my income now, especially to afford my health insurance costs. I don't have much in retirement savings. What are my best options? .The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. .During these meetings, the following issues were discussed: Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, Social Security Notch fairness, Social Security Totalization Agreement reform, and repeal of both the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO). Support was expressed for many of these key issues, and TSCL looks forward to working with these offices in the future. .Rep. McIntyre has consistently cosponsored the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act, a bill that would provide seniors with a more fair and accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. He has also cosponsored legislation that would close a Social Security loophole that allows non-citizens to become entitled to Social Security benefits for work done illegally. Finally, Rep. McIntyre introduced the Notch Fairness Act in 2011, a bill that would provide those born between the years 1917 and 1926 with modest compensation for the lower Social Security benefits that they tend to receive.