News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending August 3 2018

    This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for four key bills that would improve retirement security in America if adopted. .The "Notch" refers to a major inequity in Social Security benefits that affects seniors born from 1917 through 192According to Social Security Administration data through December 31, 2012, there are about 4.2 billion Social Security beneficiaries born during the Notch years. TSCL estimates that The Notch Fairness Act would cost about .5 billion over four years and could be paid for by doing a better job of eliminating fraud and erroneous payments. .What can you do? … Continued

  • Legislative Update October 2011 Advisor

    First, one new cosponsor – Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-7) – signed on to the Competitive DRUGS Act (H.R. 4117), bringing the total up to thirty-seven. If adopted, this bill would prohibit brand name pharmaceutical companies from paying generic drug companies to delay the introduction of their products to the market. Banning these anti-competitive "pay for delay" deals would lead to lower prescription drug prices for older Americans and other consumers. .This week, the Obama administration released its much-anticipated 2013 budget proposal, and the House-Senate conference committee compromised on a deal to prevent payment cuts to Medicare physicians and extend the payroll tax holiday. In addition, four new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act. .Last fall, as part of his deficit reduction plan, President Obama recommended charging a 30 percent surcharge on Part B premiums to new beneficiaries who purchase Medigap polices with "near first-dollar" coverage. But do Medigap supplements encourage the over use of services? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 20% of Medicare beneficiaries have a Medigap policy and they paid an average of 8 per month for premiums in 2010 (premiums vary significantly). People purchase the policies specifically to protect against the considerable costs that Medicare does not cover, and to help keep budgets in retirement years more predictable. They have modest incomes, but don't qualify for Medicaid. About 66% have incomes below ,000 and nearly 31% have incomes below ,000. … Continued

This week, after receiving countless complains from seniors without cell phone access, the Social Security Administration removed the text requirement from the online account login process. In addition, lawmakers continued their seven-week congressional recess. .Congressmember Karen Bass is serving her sixth term in Congress. She represents Culver City and parts of Los Angeles. .Still, COLA cuts remain a key proposal of major debt reduction plans. In his budget last year, President Obama proposed changing the way COLAs are calculated by using a more slowly-growing measure of inflation, known as the "chained" CPI. "If our nation is going to correct income inequality, it should start with payroll taxes," Cates says. "Under current law, millionaires pay no Social Security taxes at all on earnings over 7,000, while average workers pay Social Security taxes on every dime they earn," Cates points out. "Cutting the benefits of financially vulnerable seniors and others can't be justified when millionaires are getting a multibillion dollar tax break," Cates asserts. "TSCL urges President Obama NOT to use Social Security COLAs to cut the debt," he adds. .Johnson conducts research on the growth of the prices of goods and services that form a major part of a retirees' household budgets. According to Johnson, Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs was a total cost of ,097 in 2020 (including what beneficiaries and their drug plans pay). "Although drug plans vary, under the standard Part D benefit, the beneficiary is responsible for about 25% of that amount, and drug plans cover the remaining 75% up to an initial coverage limit which is ,130 in 2021," Johnson says. .Last - don't let all the political spin about Social Security scare you. The program is not going broke. Social Security does face a long-term financial challenge. Even when the Social Security Trust Fund becomes exhausted there would still be sufficient assets from payroll taxes to pay about 75 percent of promised benefits. Although that isn't a fair or acceptable outcome — a far more likely one — Congress will take action to correct the imbalance. .For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen the Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. .In April, TSCL's staff trekked up to Capitol Hill to hand-deliver hundreds of thousands of petitions to each Congressional office. The petitions were delivered along with a cover letter from Larry Hyland, Chairman of TSCL's Board of Trustees, who encouraged Members to support key bills. He wrote: "Your constituents listed in the following pages are active and informed, and these represent some of the issues that matter the most to them. Each of these bills would go a long way in protecting and defending the earned benefits of senior citizens." .During the years in which inflation as measured by the CPI-W has been the highest, the difference between it and the chained CPI has been greatest. In 2008, for example, when the CPI-W paid a COLA of 5.8% the following year, the chained CPI would have only paid 5.2%, a difference of 0.6 of a percentage point. "And if the government were to use the initial chained CPI data to calculate COLAs for 2012, seniors would get just 2.7% instead of 3.6%, a difference of 0.9 of a percentage point," Hyland says. .This is especially important new research at a time when Social Security faces potential changes. President Obama's "National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" is scheduled to release its plan to cut the federal deficit by December 1st.