News

  • One Third Of Social Security Recipients Have No Other Income

    On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees – along with Shannon Benton (Executive Director), former Congressman Van Hilleary (Legislative Consultant), and TSCL's staff – spent the day meeting with four Congressional offices. Support was expressed for a number of bills that would strengthen Social Security benefits for older Americans, including the CPI-E Act (H.R. 3961), the CPI for Seniors Act (H.R. 3074), and the Honesty in CPI Reporting Act (H.R. 3500). .Medicaid is the major source of coverage for an estimated 6 million seniors who need long-term care. Last year, long-term care services required one-third of the federal Medicaid budget, more than 0 billion. States, which share the program's cost, spent tens of billions to match that amount. .Seniors wanting to learn how much a COLA cut would cost in Social Security income should visit the TSCL Chained COLA calculator. … Continued

  • Legislative Update August 2018

    TSCL is supportive of both of Rep. DeFazio's bills, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. .The absence of a Social Security cost-of living adjustment (COLA), or even an extremely low one, triggers a provision of law that, while a valuable protection of Social Security benefits, has led to several steep increases in the Medicare Part B premium over the past decade. The deep recession caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus and shortages have caused consumer prices to plunge, then rise like a roller coaster in 2020. If consumer prices remain low through September 2020, it is likely there will be an extremely low annual Social Security COLA for 2021, and this provision of law will be triggered to some extent again.[1] .The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide a case in June that could have far -reaching implications for Social Security and Medicare. The Obama Administration has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate its executive action plan on immigration. The plan would give temporary relief from deportation and work permits to almost 5 million unauthorized immigrants. Should the Supreme Court find in favor of President Obama, his Administration would have 7 months to implement the program before his term ends. … Continued

The financial impact of six years of low COLAs isn't immediately apparent to the average person, but "It's a big one, " Cates says. A new analysis for TSCL that compared the increases from 2010 through 2015 against the prior 3% average found that, altogether, the benefits of the typical Social Security recipient will be about ,298 lower by the end of 201In 2015 the average monthly Social Security benefit will be about 3 lower, and ,356 less for the year. .Senate Subcommittee Considers Family Leave Proposal .Can You Tell Me What to Expect in The Part D Doughnut Hole? .For this week, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts for the final week before they return to Washington following the Labor Day holiday. .This week, Senate Budget Chair Kent Conrad (ND) released his Fiscal Commission Budget Plan, which would overhaul the tax code and make major changes to both Social Security and Medicare. In addition, TSCL saw support grow for the Social Security Fairness Act. .When working Social Security recipients who are younger than full retirement age earn more than the annual earnings limit amount, their benefits will be reduced. The Social Security Administration likes to point out that these benefit reductions are "not truly lost because your benefit will be increased at your full retirement age to account for benefits withheld due to earlier earnings." But as you have discovered, you can sometimes wind up owing money to Social Security that was not withheld properly. .TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to ask questions of their elected officials about important Social Security and Medicare issues, like the following four… .But it's no "small change," warns The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. In fact, it could reduce lifetime Social Security benefits by tens of thousands of dollars over a retirement. .Despite receiving some pointed questions at Wednesday's hearing, most Senators on the panel seemed overwhelmingly supportive of Burwell's nomination. Sen. Tom Coburn (OK) introduced her to the Finance Committee and he recommended her confirmation, saying: "When you have someone who is competent and also has a strong character, you find a way to get past your differences and try to solve your problems." In addition, in his opening remarks, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (WV) said, "We need you, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, very, very much."