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  • Millions Stolen From Medicare Traced To Cuban Banks

    Obama Urges Lawmakers in the State of the Union Address .The legislation fully covers the cost of providing the emergency payments by closing corporate compensation loopholes, which provide enormous tax breaks for the CEO of the nation's top corporations. By closing the loophole, the bill also would add substantial new revenue to Social Security extending the solvency of both the retirement and disability insurance trust funds. ."The loss of a job not only means the loss of income, but it also can mean the loss of healthcare benefits, and both employee and employer contributions to retirement accounts," Johnson notes. Depending on how long older workers remain out work, a growing number may turn to Social Security and file claims for benefits earlier than originally planned. That can mean permanently reduced benefits for people who haven't reached their full retirement age. … Continued

  • Best Ways To Save April 2016

    Read all notices from the Social Security Administration and carefully check the deposit information. If it doesn't agree with your bank account, contact Social Security at once. .This week, action on Capitol Hill slowed down as both Houses of Congress adjourned for a district work period. However, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) did see support grow for one key piece of legislation. .Put your mother's apartment on the market and work to sell it. This means giving it a thorough cleaning, a fresh coat of paint if needed, and minor repairs. … Continued

Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin said, "I have directed an immediate halt to further referrals under the Treasury Offset Program to recover debts owed to the agency that are 10 years old and older pending a thorough review of our responsibility and discretion under the current law." But a week after the announcement The Washington Post reported that "many taxpayers say the government is still seizing refunds." The Social Security Administration said letters to those taxpayers went out before the announcement, but it remains unclear whether they will get their money back. .If our forecast proves correct, this would. .When the Office of Inspector General matched the 6.5 million Social Security numbers against the Social Security Administrations file, it found 67,000 of the numbers were used to report wages for people other than the cardholders, a sign the numbers were used for illegal work. According to the Associated Press, one Social Security number was used 613 different times. An additional 194 numbers were used at least 50 times each. .On Wednesday, Members of the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing called "The Coming Crisis: Social Security Disability Trust Fund Insolvency." They heard from a number of expert witnesses, including Carolyn Colvin, the Acting Social Security Commissioner. .The traditional formula does not take into account rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and expenses for prescription drugs that have had increasing effects on this segment in recent years. The revised formula accounted for 15.9 percent of seniors 65 or older living in poverty, which nearly doubled the percentage used in the traditional formula. In total, a record level of 49.1 million Americans are considered in poverty, according to the new estimates. .On Friday, lawmakers in the House returned to their home districts for a five-week recess. They are expected to return to Washington on Tuesday, September 4th, following the Labor Day holiday. In the meantime, many Members of Congress will be attending local events and hosting town hall meetings in their home states and districts. The Senior Citizens League encourages its supporters to attend these events and to ask important questions of their elected officials, like the following four... .I care deeply about guaranteeing that all Americans have access to food, regardless of their income. That is why I introduced this bill. .This week, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.1205, S.915) gained one new cosponsor in Congressman Steve Stivers (OH-15), bringing the new cosponsor total up to 16In the Senate, the bill gained six new cosponsors in Senator Bill Nelson (FL), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), Senator Mazie Hirono (HI), Senator Jack Reed (RI), and Senator Patrick Leahy (VT). If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two Social Security provisions that unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of public employees each year. .According to a survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), 70% of older Americans think Social Security's solvency should be improved by scrapping the Social Security taxable wage limit of 8,500.