News

  • Legislative Update March 2012 Advisor

    The new low comes as COLAs have flat-lined over the past seven years, averaging just 1.2% — less than half the 3% average over the two decades prior to 20The long-term financial impact on anticipated retirement benefits is significant and growing, says TSCL's Executive Director, Shannon Benton. "People lose the effect of compounding when benefit raises are at these extreme lows," she explains. "That reduces the Social Security income that retirees may have been counting on over their retirement." .Over the past nine years, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%, so it comes as a frustrating surprise to retirees to learn that, in the decade prior to 2000, COLAs averaged 3% per year, more than twice the average today. Because COLAs compound, and the monthly benefit grows over time, lower COLAs mean less Social Security income than retirees might have planned for. That in turn means spending through retirement savings more quickly than planned. .Require new deductibles and cost-sharing while limiting what Medigap plans could cover. Because Medicare doesn't cover all of the costs, seniors purchase supplemental coverage, known as "Medigap," to cover deductibles, and co-insurance. A proposal from President Obama's Fiscal Commission would impose a new deductible of 0 and new cost-sharing. Then, it would restrict what Medigap plans could cover, adding up to ,000 in new out-of-pocket costs that the more comprehensive Medigap plans cover now. … Continued

  • S 308 Protecting And Preserving Social Security Act

    (Photo: iStockphoto) .The uncertainty of Senate passage of the new legislation to waive the cuts to Medicare comes about because of the 2010 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which requires across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, to "mandatory" programs if any new legislation increases the deficit. .The Health and Human Services Department finalized the policy through an interim final rule in November, meaning the agency skipped the comment period. Lowering drug costs for patients is the end goal of the policy, which the government argues justified the speedy implementation. … Continued

Women who earn less are particularly disadvantaged because females tend to live longer compared to men but have to live on less in benefits. The Social Security Administration website tells us that the typical woman receives ,218 each month while the typical man receives ,534 per month — meaning that, on average, men receive 25% more in Social Security benefits. This means that women have much less money to cover their expenses over a longer period. .It's unknown whether or not Congress will tackle the SGR before the end of the year, but most Subcommittee Members at Wednesday's hearing did seem set on providing extensions for the other payment provisions that are nearing expiration. .Catastrophic Coverage Period: When your total out-of-pocket spending reaches ,350, you hit the catastrophic stage of coverage. Your co-insurance drops to 5% coinsurance or co-pays of .60 generic, .95 brand, whichever is higher. You remain in the Catastrophic coverage period until December 31, 2020. .Report Says Drug Prices in U.S. Almost 3 Times Higher than Other Countries .The inspector general has recommended that the IRS should require ITIN filers claiming the Additional Child Tax Credits to provide documentation that their dependents meet the qualifications for the credit, including residency. The IRS disputes this, saying that it doesn't have the legal authority to verify and disallow the child tax credits. .In normal political times neither party would allow Medicare to be cut. But because of our current highly partisan times, it would require ten Republicans to join with Democrats to stop the cuts to Medicare with new legislation if reconciliation were used. .Second, one new cosponsor – Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) – signed on to the Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (H.R. 1776). The cosponsor total is now up to twenty-three. If adopted, this comprehensive bill would require the federal government to negotiate lower Medicare Part D prices, allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, and cap monthly prescription drug expenses at 0, among other things. .Essential Drugs Need to be made in the U.S. .In other words, next year's COLA could be calculated based at least in part on guesses. That could be disastrous for seniors.