News

  • Congressional Corner Protecting Social Security For Retirees And Future Generations

    Pressure is on Congress and President Obama to reach a deficit reduction agreement to address rising federal debt. Many analysts expect that cutting annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) will be a central part to any agreement. That would not only cut the benefits of more than 53 million Social Security recipients, but those of Railroad Retirement recipients, military and federal worker retirees as well. .The responsibility is on you to notify the SSA of your age, and file an application for retirement benefits based on your own earnings, if higher. As you continue working past age 66, the retirement benefit you receive based on your own earnings continues to grow. That retirement credit is only applied until age 70; however, there's no additional increase thereafter, so put in your claim now. .We want to emphasize that these are all projections based on the economic situation at the time they were developed. As we have seen in the past year, things can change dramatically and clearly, we still don't know how things will be in the coming months and year with regard to the pandemic. … Continued

  • Legislative Update August 2012

    On Tuesday, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs released their annual reports on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. As expected, the Trustees found that both programs currently face manageable financial challenges. .The Medicare Trustees estimated in their April 2020 annual report that the base 2021 Part B premium would rise by .70 (6 percent), from 4.60 to 3.30.[9] The annual report was written prior to the coronavirus national emergency and does not incorporate the effects of the coronavirus caused recession, the interaction with an extremely low, or even no COLA, and the potential triggering of hold harmless in its forecast. .A draft of the order is circulating inside the government and was obtained by Bloomberg News. "It is critical that we reduce our dependence on foreign manufacturers for essential medicines, medical countermeasures" to "ensure sufficient and reliable long-term domestic manufacturing" that prevents shortages and supplies to "mobilize our nation's public health industrial base" when needed, says the nine-page draft. … Continued

Social Security Trust Fund is the biggest government account holding U.S. debt — and the U.S. Treasury owes the Trust Fund more than .8 trillion. .In addition to Medicare Part A and B, you will need additional insurance. Medicare alone does not cover everything, and there are considerable out-of-pocket costs that would suck your life savings right out of any nest egg you might have. You will need to decide between a supplemental insurance policy, known as Medigap, and a free-standing prescription drug plan, or to join a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage. TSCL strongly recommends that you get free, unbiased counseling, to learn your options and to find the most reasonably-priced coverage for your needs. All areas of the country offer this Medicare counseling through State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP). Although the actual name of the program in your area may vary, you can find the programs operating through your area agency on aging, senior center, or get contact info here: https://www.shiptacenter.org ."Social Security benefits simply are not adequate when people with a Social Security benefit of even as much as ,288 per month are at risk of having their entire COLA used to cover rising Part B premiums," says Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "That is what happened in 2018, and that left nothing to cover all other rising household costs," Johnson explains. .TSCL believes Congress must ensure stronger protections of Social Security in order to prevent payments based on illegal work. TSCL supports legislation that would prevent Social Security credit being earned without legal status such as (S.95) introduced by Senator David Vitter (LA). Sources: "Status of Totalization Agreements," Social Security Administration, October 22, 200"Social Security Benefits for Noncitizens," Congressional Research Service, July 20, 2006. .A few weeks after a 90-year old woman was moved into an assisted living facility, her daughter was surprised to be told that her mother was a good candidate for hospice. The move to assisted living was only intended for help with her mother's daily care, and her. Another Banner Year For Medicare Fraud? , editor .IMPORTANT: We Need Your Help .This does not mean you should stop using hand sanitizers when you cannot thoroughly wash your hands. It just means you would be wise to throw out any of the above listed hand sanitizers if you have them. .We've also reported on an analysis by the Social Security Administration about the effect of the President's directive on the viability of Social Security. That report said in part, the " DI [Disability Insurance] Trust Fund asset reserves would become permanently depleted in about the middle of calendar year 2021, with no ability to pay DI benefits thereafter. We estimate that OASI[Old Age and Survivors' Insurance] Trust Fund reserves would become permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023, with no ability to pay OASI benefits thereafter." .TSCL agrees with Rep. Johnson, and we believe Congress must begin formulating a serious plan to fix the program's finances. Recently, we announced our support for two pieces of legislation that we believe are long overdue. One bill (S. 499 / H.R. 918) would prevent beneficiaries from collecting both unemployment benefits and disability insurance benefits at the same time. The second bill (S. 1198 / H.R. 1936) would ensure that evidence from convicted felons and other criminals is excluded when determining whether an individual is eligible for disability benefits.