News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending March 14 2014

    The CBO recommended substantial changes in tax and/or spending policies in the near future in order to put the federal budget on a sustainable path forward. Acting sooner rather than later is important, the authors noted, so that those affected by any changes have plenty of time to prepare, so that uncertainty can be reduced, and so that long-term interest rates can be held down. Members of the House Budget Committee seemed to agree during Wednesday's hearing, and Chairman Paul Ryan (WI-1) stated: "If this report tells us anything, it's that the status quo isn't working." .The irony is that when Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) because Senate Majority Leader in 2015 he said the Senate must return to "regular order," which means getting its work done in an orderly fashion and on time. .In Washington, my priority is helping improve the lives of the American people, and that includes addressing our nation's retirement system to ensure it serves our seniors more effectively. One way Congress did this was by passing the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 201This bill, which passed with my support, will streamline and update our nation's retirement system in several ways, including removing the age limitation on IRA contributions, increasing access to retirement plans by allowing small businesses to join together to offer plans, and allowing penalty-free distributions from a retirement account for the birth or adoption of a child. This legislation isn't perfect, but it is a step forward, and I am glad the SECURE Act was passed into law at the end of 201While approximately half of American households still don't have an option for work-based retirement plans, as a nation we must continue to work to advance access to retirement savings vehicles and decrease barriers to entry for small employers who want to offer savings plans to their employees. … Continued

  • Press Release Medicare Premiums Increase

    The Senior Citizens League proposes that Congress enact an emergency COLA or one - time benefit boost payable for 202TSCL supports legislation that would ensure that COLAs are no less than 3 percent. But the organization also recognizes that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in its January 2020 baseline, estimated that a 2.5 percent COLA would be payable for 202Thus, providing a 2.5 percent emergency COLA would provide what has already been projected for Social Security benefits by the CBO. .Instead, locality pay increases are intended to keep the salaries of current federal workers competitive with private sector jobs in the same locality pay area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures non-federal compensation in a particular market and compares it to federal pay for federal employees who perform similar work in the same region. The gap between the two helps determine the locality pay adjustment for a specific area in a given year. .The U.S. has already hit the most recent debt limit on March 2nd, just one month after the government shutdown ended. The U.S. Treasury is currently using "extraordinary measures" to temporarily keep the federal government funded, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Treasury will run out of cash near the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2019) unless Congress takes action. … Continued

In 2015, after a national coalition of senior advocacy groups (including TSCL) demanded action, Congress reduced the increase in Part B premiums from 9.30 per month to 1.80 per month, which was still a very high increase of 16.1 percent. The premium included a "repayment" amount that was added to monthly premiums of all beneficiaries in future years to recover the cost of the reduced premium rate in 2016 over time. .Nearly 1.5 million teachers and other public servants see their earned Social Security benefits reduced by as much as 40 percent due to the Windfall Elimination Provision. What do you feel should be done about this? .Anthony Cummings, a fugitive on the run from a child rape indictment in Georgia, improperly collected thousands of dollars in Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) payments until the law finally caught up with him. The SSI program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), will continue to pay fugitives at least million annually unless state fugitive files can be used to prevent such payments, the agency`s Inspector General recently warned. Auditors estimate that fugitives have collected between 8 million and 0 million in SSI benefits over the past four years. The SSA hopes to negotiate agreements by July to obtain fugitive records from all states. .In recent years the Earnings Suspense File has been growing at an unprecedented pace. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, was recently quoted as saying that, last year, as many as 10% of the wage reports received by the Social Security Administration (SSA) belonged to employees whose name and Social Security number did not match those of SSA. .New legislation, called the "National Senior Investor Initiative Act" or "Senior Security Act" (H.R. 1565), was introduced earlier this month with two Democrats and two Republicans as cosponsors. . Paula chose to take the employer-provided Medicare supplement, dental and vision coverage at 6 per month, but "opted out" of the expensive Part D. Instead we found more reasonably priced drug coverage at .90 per month, and covering the prescriptions she currently took with no deductible, using the Medicare Drug Plan Finder at www.medicare.gov. .The following Members of Congress, among others, will hold town halls this week: Sen. Michael Crapo (ID), Sen. Jerry Moran (KS), Sen. Mike Lee (UT), Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-3), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Rep. Donna Edwards (MD-4). .In fact, according to TSCL's annual survey of senior costs, Social Security benefits have lost more than one-third of their buying power since 2000 because COLAs underpay recipients. TSCL supports using the CPI-E to determine COLAs that better take into account the spending patterns of older people. For well over a decade, TSCL has lobbied Congress to make the COLA more fair and accurate. TSCL is mobilizing seniors nationwide to contact Members of Congress. .Plan for health changes as you age. What are the chances of developing a chronic condition, like asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure later in life? It's a good idea to set aside a portion of your retirement savings for healthcare emergencies and health changes as you age. One way to figure this is by using the out-of-pocket maximum limits on your health plan and Part D coverage. For example, having an emergency healthcare account of at least ,450 set aside for a senior in reasonable health in 2013 is a smart idea. If you are in a health plan that has a maximum annual out-of-pocket limit, you will want to try to have at least that much set aside every year (that may be about ,700 in 2013, for example). Your Part D out-of-pocket maximum in 2013 is ,750.