News

  • Cola 0 3 Year Retirees Report Costs Grew Lot

    Since enactment 84 years ago, Social Security has been the most reliable source of retirement income that most retirees have. That said, our current Social Security program has a funding imbalance that's creeping forward. In 2018 the Congressional Budget Office reported that Social Security's total benefit costs exceeded its total income, including (for the first time) the "interest" income on the special obligations bonds, or I.O.U.s that are held by the trust fund. According to the Social Security Trustees, from here forward, Social Security benefits will be financed with a combination of payroll taxes, revenues from the taxation of Social Security income, "interest" income from the special obligation bonds, and net redemptions of those bonds, until the reserves held from the Trust Funds are depleted. .Johnson cautions, "The current inflationary trend may only be temporary, because prices today are compared with a big sudden drop in prices a year ago when the impact of COVID-19 first began to hit our economy." "The jump we see now is centered primarily on energy prices, but a number of other spending categories have stayed relatively flat," she says. .Investigate national and community charitable programs and organizations. An excellent guide to Prescription Drug Assistance Programs is available from The American Cancer Society. Even if you don't have cancer, the information is pertinent to all drug assistance programs. For more information call 1-800-ACS-2345 or download the publication at http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/FindingandPayingforTreatment/ManagingInsuranceIssues/PrescriptionDrugAssistancePrograms/index … Continued

  • Ask The Advisor April May 2021

    Federal law requires that any reduction in payroll tax revenues going into the Social Security Trust Fund must be replaced dollar-for-dollar with general revenues from the U.S. Treasury. Consequently, a temporary extension of the payroll tax cut will have no effect on the Social Security Trust Fund. .Provide a guaranteed minimum COLA of 3 percent. Providing a COLA guarantee of 3 percent in years when no, or an extremely low COLA is payable would eliminate the triggering of hold harmless and subsequent Medicare premium spikes on a program-wide basis. Because the vast majority of beneficiaries would be able to afford their premium increase, the cost of Part B premiums would be shared over the greatest possible number of beneficiaries, keeping Part B increases lower. .TSCL is non-partisan and we are listening! This is exactly the time when your voice counts the most. Please take time now to participate in TSCL's 2020 Senior Survey. … Continued

Part B premiums are only part of what Medicare recipients pay. People also have premiums for a Medigap supplement and Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan and those premiums are rising as well. Hold harmless protection does not apply to premium increases in these private plans, and any increase would leave retirees .(Washington, DC) – About 56 percent of all Social Security households pay taxes on a portion of their Social Security benefits, according to a national survey by The Senior Citizens League. "Recently enacted changes in the tax law will increase both the numbers of taxpayers whose Social Security benefits are taxable and the portion of Social Security income that people will pay in taxes," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson. .A number of vaccines, including those for flu and pneumonia, might be capable of improving immunity overall, according to one researcher. Scientists are looking at several other potential candidates, including vaccines against herpes viruses and tuberculosis. .Last week we learned that the top attorney in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), warned department officials that the program is potentially illegal because it could be in violation of federal election laws. .Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) introduced S. 500 on March 7, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance. .While most people have rebounded, too many mature workers are still struggling to find work, much less a good-paying job. According to a survey by AARP, half of mature workers who experienced unemployment between 2010-2014 were still looking for work five years later. .By Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Director .The budget resolution now heads to the House floor, where its future remains uncertain. Republican leaders in the House have been attempting to win the support of the 40-member conservative Freedom Caucus for weeks, but they have not yet been successful. They will need to rely upon a least a dozen of their votes for its passage. Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (GA-6) told reporters this week that he is "working with members who are not on the Budget Committee" to build support for it, and that it will be taken up "when we have the votes." .In 2007 an analysis released by TSCL estimated that if 6 million illegal workers were to gain work authorization it would cost Social Security alone more than .6 trillion in benefits through 204Under current law, if illegal immigrants get work authorization at some point they could file claim for Social Security benefits. Currently the Social Security Administration uses all reported earnings to determine entitlement to benefits, including earnings for jobs worked illegally if the worker has kept evidence, like W2s, of earnings.