Before spending the money, you may be able to accomplish a lot of your own retirement planning by exploring free or low-cost resources in your community. Try starting with educational programs offered by your local senior center, community college or public universities. Ask about classes and workshops specifically designed to help people over 60 learn about and think through major aspects of retirement and aging. Here are some questions to help get you started: .If you're like most seniors, you probably depend on Social Security for at least half of your income. But how well does the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) protect you from rising costs? TSCL will soon release some answers to this question with the results of its 7th Annual Survey of Senior Costs. In recent years these surveys have indicated that Social Security beneficiaries lose a considerable portion of their buying power — as much as 31 percent — in as little as the first decade of retirement. .In a letter to the bill's sponsors, Ed Cates – Chairman of TSCL's Board of Trustees – wrote, "When family caregivers don't receive the support they need, they often must leave their jobs, take on significant debt, or move their loved ones out of their homes and into costly assisted living facilities. TSCL and its members believe the growing problem must be addressed as soon as possible." We look forward to working with the bill's sponsors in the months ahead to continue building support for the important bill. .I recently received an email with a link to a "Tax Loophole for Illegals" video claiming that the IRS had paid over billion in Child Tax refunds to illegal immigrants. Is this an Internet rumor? How can our government give away billions to illegals, when they don't pay any taxes? .Pet health insurance may not be worth the cost. While many veterinarian practices have brochures for pet health insurance, shop carefully, and read the fine print about what these policies do and don't cover. Pet owners can expect to pay between to per month for premiums, often more than what you pay in services most years. Consumer experts suggest that if you are worried about catastrophic costs, put the money you would spend on pet health insurance premiums into a pet savings account. .The issue of physician choice and access to care for Medicare recipients arises time and again as Congress has taken last minute action to prevent drastic cuts to physician reimbursements. Only repeated, last-minute actions have saved doctors from substantial pay cuts. Cutting reimbursements for doctors has surface appeal because it does not require seniors to pay additional dollars out-of-pocket. However, there is a hidden cost. Physicians who live under constant fear of substantial cuts may opt to stop serving Medicare patients, resulting in loss of access to care for many seniors. .In July of 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act regarding risk adjustment. Under this rule, the Federal Government is requiring health insurers to provide confidential and detailed medical information about a person. Aside from the fact that this is an invasion of privacy, we must also remember the Federal Government's lack of accountability with health records when over 5 million TRICARE records were stolen from the car of a government contractor this past fall. .We have been hearing from hundreds of you who are watching the inflation numbers and eagerly looking forward to getting a high inflation boost next year. But a number of you point out an urgent problem that occurs. COLA Estimated to Be 6% to 6.1% For 2022 , editor .Proponents of cutting benefits argue that Social Security, as it is currently structured, is unstainable because there are fewer workers to support current retirees. Social Security is estimated to run short of funds in about 15 years. Without changes and soon, Social Security benefits would have to be reduced by about 22% to match the amount of revenues that the program receives.