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  • Legislative Update May 2011 Advisor Feed

    In determining the COLA what items does the government track for price changes? Why does the COLA grow so much more slowly than my costs? .The U.S. depends on China for thousands of chemicals needed to make prescription drugs. That's because it turns out that pharmaceutical companies have outsourced our generic medicine manufacturing to China. .Do you have a mortgage? A recent survey by national mortgage banker American Financing found that 44% of Americans between the ages of 60 and 70 have a mortgage when they retire. Of that group, almost one-in-three expect to be paying on their mortgage for at least eight more years. Life insurance can cover mortgage payments if you die, and a term life policy can be timed to end with debt payments. … Continued

  • Social Security Benefits Lose 30 Of Buying Power Since 2000 No Cola Likely For 2021

    The Grassley-Wyden package would create a rebate system in Medicare Part B and Part D beginning in 2022 for brand-name drugs and biological products with prices that increase faster than inflation. Conservative groups and some Senate Republicans have opposed the rebate system for Part D, the prescription drug benefit program, but not for Part B, the outpatient services program. .Usually, your doctor's order is necessary. Before you need emergency care, put a plan into place, including someone to help take care of you should you become seriously ill. Often, doctors will order observation care when you are too sick to safely go home from the emergency room. Although this can still occur even with the best-laid plan, you may be able to reduce the length of an observation stay if you have someone who will take care of you once you are released. If you learn that your patient status was changed after your admission as an inpatient you have a right to appeal decisions about healthcare payment, coverage of services and prescription drug coverage. .Rapidly climbing prices for consumer goods and services are making financial choices for older adults especially challenging this year. But eventually, these higher prices might mean a higher Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) for next year. In the meantime, older consumers are struggling to figure out how to pay for. Buying Power of Social Security Benefits Wiped Out by Soaring Inflation An abrupt jump in inflation in February and March of this year wiped out a short-lived improvement in the buying power of Social Security benefits in 2020, according to TSCL's latest study on rising senior costs. The study, which compares the growth in the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA)s with increases in the. Are We Experiencing the Return of Inflation? , editor … Continued

The new benefit formula under the 1977 law changes used "wage indexing" to calculate the initial retirement benefit. The economic assumptions used by Congress and the Social Security Administration assumed that wages would grow more quickly than price inflation. Generally, this is the way the economy tends to perform under normal circumstances. In reality, however, the reverse happened. .Are you the parent or spouse of someone with special needs? Permanent life insurance can make sure a child or spouse will have financial support when you are gone. .The Social Security Trustees further estimate that .9 billion in revenues in 2020 would come from the taxation of Social Security benefits. "Yet those revenues are also likely to be lower, impacted by both large numbers of older Americans who lost income from jobs, as well as from lower distributions from retirement accounts that have lost value from last year," Johnson notes. Under the CARES Act, retirees are allowed to completely waive required minimum distributions for 2020 from retirement accounts. .With the November 4th elections now behind us, TSCL is gearing up for another action-packed year. This coming spring, the temporary "doc fix" will expire and Members of Congress will need to stave off another severe pay cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients. Failing to do so could jeopardize access to medical care for millions of senior citizens. TSCL will be advocating for a long-term solution that would repeal the sustainable growth rate formula, once and for all, and establish a permanent path forward. .He said the out-of-pocket costs that patients are paying need to be fixed and that pharmaceutical company executives would be willing to help cover the cost of such reform. However, he said they want to ensure their contributions would go directly toward lowering patient costs and not into the federal budget to be used for other things. .Recently a journalist, familiar with my estimates of cost-of-living adjustments, contacted me for my thoughts on the topic.. What's Missing From Your Social Security Check? For Many — 7 , editor .Three Ways Congress Can Pay For Notch Reform .The following chart illustrates 5 examples: .Here are a few important tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of phone scams or identity theft: