Social Security Administration data indicate that, since 2000, the ESF grew at an unprecedented pace. According to TSCL's new report since 2000, the SSA has received, on average, 8.8 million suspicious wage reports annually. Cumulative wages in the ESF since 1980 now total more than .2 trillion, unadjusted for inflation. Wages are of importance because Social Security benefits are based on an individual's earnings record, not the taxes paid in. .As the coronavirus continues to be among the major news stories each day, attention has turned to the drug supply in the U.S., not because of the cost but because of the vulnerability of the supply of prescription drugs for use in the nation. .The Senior Citizens League endorses legislation introduced by Representative Ted Deutch (FL-22) that would exempt Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from any federal balanced budget requirement. "We believe that a constitutional amendment is not needed to address the problems these programs face," Johnson says. "What we do need is strong program financing to ensure retirement and healthcare benefits for all." What do you think? Take The Senior Citizens League's 2018 Senior Survey at . .Medicare Reform – Protect beneficiaries from changes that would impose greater out-of-pocket costs on beneficiaries. .This study illustrates why legislation is needed to provide a more fair and adequate COLA. To put it in perspective, for every 0 worth of groceries a retiree could afford in 2000, they can only buy worth today. To help protect the buying power of benefits, TSCL supports legislation that would provide a modest boost in benefits and base COLAs on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) or guarantee that the COLA would be a minimum of 3 percent. To learn more, visit . .Want more information on the 2015 COLA Announcement? Read TSCL's latest press release .Eighty percent of the nation's active pharmaceutical ingredients come from overseas — and China is its No. 2 supplier, behind only Canada. .Some Medicare Advantage plans offer low cost dental insurance as an additional benefit. Before adding the coverage, always look into the details. Coverage can be very skimpy for the money, and you might be able to find better coverage for the same amount of money from a stand-alone dental plan. .At a time when Congress is deeply divided on many issues, we need to find a way to break through the gridlock to pass bipartisan, commonsense measures to support our nation's seniors. In that spirit, I introduced the bipartisan SAFE ID Act to ensure that seniors can retire without fear of having their identity stolen or losing their savings. With nine of the ten top cities for tax-ID fraud located in Florida, many seniors in my home state have fallen prey to identity theft and other forms of fraud. This bipartisan legislation will eliminate one big source of identity theft by allowing a shortened taxpayer identity number to be used in place of a social security number on taxpayer forms like W-2s.