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  • Legislative Update Week Ending November 30 2018 2

    TSCL believes that the extreme cost increases are putting Medicare beneficiaries and funding for Part D at risk. "Medicare must be given the authority to negotiate pharmaceutical prices with manufacturers for covered Part D drugs," says Cates. How are rising healthcare costs affecting you? TSCL wants to hear from you, visit . .TSCL has been getting a steady stream of email from those of you who might potentially be affected by a sizable benefit cut when you. Ask the Advisor: June 2021 What Is Congress Doing to Prevent My Benefits From Being Reduced? .Spending Bill Dominates "Lame Duck" Session … Continued

  • Test Program To Give Covid Vaccine Through Local Pharmacies

    Key Social Security Bills Gain Support .Members of the House adjourned for a week-long recess on Monday, but budget talks continued for the lawmakers that sit on the bicameral conference committee. While many have reportedly been meeting behind closed doors, Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) took his message public in a news conference that announced his opposition to including entitlement cuts in a budget package. He said this week, "On these issues, Congress is way out of touch. The American people do not want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid." .Since the start of CPI-E in 1983, the average difference between it and the CPI-W is roughly .25 percentage point per year. Sounds tiny but, like interest, it compounds over time. Had the CPI-E been used to determine COLAs since 2015, your benefit would be about 2% higher today. An average benefit of ,215 per month in 2015 will increase to ,298 per month in 2020. But had the CPI-E been used to calculate the COLAs, that benefit would have been per month more or ,324 in 2020. … Continued

A husband's death can mean enormous financial hardship for women. Under current law it generally means a big drop in Social Security income, going from two Social Security payments each month to just one. When the husband passes away, the widow gets a benefit that's 100% the amount the deceased spouse was entitled to, if higher than her own retirement benefit. For example, if the couple received a combined benefit of ,400 per month, and the husband's benefit is ,600, then the widow would just get the ,600 and lose her own 0 per month in benefits. .New Virus Relief Bill Could Affect Social Security and Medicare .Often, consumers don't even know they signed such an agreement because the clauses are buried in the fine print. .Almost 4 million retired Notch Babies, spouses and their survivors would benefit from this modest old age boost that TSCL estimates would cost about .5 billion. .https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/covid-19-cold-flu-and-allergies-differences/art-20503981 .CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide. Since the virus spreads more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high. It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises. .With the economy continuing to sputter, most seniors and Baby Boomers don't feel all that secure about their retirement finances. How realistic will my budget be for the New Year? Will Social Security and othe retirement income cover all my bills? Are my savings adequate to cover expensive chronic health costs? Seniors can find answers, practical tips and more in a special "Best Ways to Save" issue of The Social Security & Medicare Advisor newsletter free from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). ."Using the chained CPI to calculate COLAs would make the problem even worse," Hyland contends. "The chained CPI is calculated much differently than the Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W), the current CPI, and would have a significant effect on reducing the total amount of lifetime Social Security benefits that people receive," Hyland says. "The data certainly suggests this is the case," he adds. .In March 1988, the General Accounting Office (now General Accountability Office) cited an example of two Notch Babies who were sisters. Edith and Audrey started work at the same book bindery on the same day. Audrey was born in March 191Edith was born in June 191When they retired, Edith received a monthly benefit of 1.80 less than Audrey, a difference of almost 18%.