News

  • Number Retirees Spent Half Social Security Benefits Healthcare Jumped 7 2014

    This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three important bills that would strengthen the Social Security program and reduce prescription drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries if signed into law. .Did Members of Congress receive a COLA this year? If so did they get more than the 3.6% that seniors received? Is it true they don't pay into Social Security? .Most Americans contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to Social Security, but due to the taxable maximum wage cap, people earning more than 8,500 pay nothing over that amount. Do you support increasing or eliminating the taxable maximum wage limit to make the program more solvent? … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending September 19 2014

    Source: The Full Retirement Age is Increasing, Social Security Administration, July 23, 20http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/ageincrease.htm .After being suspended since November 2, 2015, the debt cap was reinstated last week. "Although the Treasury secretary is using ‘extraordinary measures' to fund the budget for now, a failure to lift the debt limit in time would affect all Americans, including the timely payment of Social Security benefits," says TSCL Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. .The toll free number for the VA Hotline is . … Continued

Who are these beneficiaries? The Inspector General's report refers to these beneficiaries as dependents and survivors of other Social Security beneficiaries and subject to the Social Security Alien Nonpayment Provision (ANP) law. The ANP forbids payment of retirement, survivor and disability benefits when non-citizens have been outside the United States for more than 6 months. But as is so often the case with Social Security law, there are several exceptions; for example, if the non-citizen is from a foreign country that has its own social insurance system and meets certain conditions. Mexico is on the list of countries that meet the conditions of the exception. .In addition, the full retirement age — the age at which individuals qualify for full, unreduced Social Security benefits, is rising. Retiring prior to the full retirement age permanently reduces benefits by as much as 30 percent. The full retirement age, which is currently is 66, goes up by 2 months per year for people born after 1954 through 195It is 67 for those born in 1960 and thereafter. .SSA Rescinds New Online Security Policy .Third, Senator Casey's BENES Act (S. 1909) gained one new cosponsor in Senator Susan Collins (ME), bringing the cosponsor total to two in the Senate. If signed into law, S.1909 would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and help prepare those approaching Medicare eligibility by educating them about the program's benefits. .The Senior Citizens League has prepared a new fact sheet to help the public better understand how immigration changes by executive action may affect Social Security and Medicare. Get it here. .While that may solve one problem in trying to find the most affordable health care, it's not clear it will solve many others that still exist. .In addition to testing, passengers who are not fully vaccinated should self-quarantine for 7 days after cruise travel, even if they test negative. If they do not get tested, they should self-quarantine for 10 days after cruise travel. .In a statement, Congressman Doggett said: "Despite groundbreaking medical discoveries, we see no breakthrough in affordability for consumers. Drug pricing in America is a tangled mess, a knot that will take more than one cut to pull apart … Sick patients are tired of seeing Congress do nothing about a problem that affects so many." .Last week there was major news concerning Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drug prices – or at least so it seemed. But "the devil is in the details" and we will try to sort it out for you below.