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  • Category Issues Soical Security Notch Articles Page 2

    Because of the coronavirus, however, the BLS has been unable to gather much of the information from those two categories. Therefore, although they do not use the word, they are going to guess at those costs. It may be an educated guess, but it is still a guess, nonetheless. .Candidates campaign for office saying they don't support cutting Social Security benefits of current retirees, or those close to retirement. Yet the two recently - enacted changes went into effect almost immediately after passage. People who are under the age of 66 by the end of April 2016 may no longer use file and suspend, and those who were under the age of 62 by the end of 2015 will no longer be able to use restricted applications for spousal benefits. .By doing her research now, your sister can start learning about her options in the area where she would like to live. She needs to get an idea of how much senior living options cost, how the options are financed, and what she needs to do to get ready for such a move. There are companies that specialize in helping older adults downsize, and she may need to talk to a financial planner and real estate agents to get her home ready to put on the market. … Continued

  • Is Growth In Social Security Disability Due To Aging Baby Boomers Or Scam

    In 2015, after a national coalition of senior advocacy groups (including TSCL) demanded action, Congress reduced the increase in Part B premiums from 9.30 per month to 1.80 per month, which was still a very high increase of 16.1 percent. The premium included a "repayment" amount that was added to monthly premiums of all beneficiaries in future years to recover the cost of the reduced premium rate in 2016 over time. .Beneficiaries are telling other Mexicans about the Social Security benefits. .For the last couple of weeks we've also reported on a hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform regarding the prices that drug companies are charging for some of their drugs that are critical for the health of many seniors. … Continued

I'm still working and will turn 65 in July of this year. I currently get my health insurance through my employer. We have more than 20 employees and I've been told I can keep my employer's health insurance instead of starting Medicare in July. The health insurance that I have now is pretty expensive and the deductibles are high. How can I compare the costs between the two types of insurance? .This week, action on Capitol Hill remained slow as the fall recess continued. .Source: "Audits Of Some Medicare Advantage Plans Reveal Pervasive Overcharging," Fred Schulte, Center For Public Integrity," NPR, August 29, 201"Medicare Advantage: Fundamental Improvements Needed in CMS's Effort to Recover Substantial Amounts of Improper Payments, Government Accountability Office, April 2016. .I'm 62 and trying to make some decisions about retirement. I'm confused and overwhelmed with information. Recently a friend told me about a retirement coach. I've never heard of this before. Is this a good idea or just another scheme to siphon money out of people nearing retirement? ."This year's zero COLA combined with next year's insufficient increase will have a devastating impact on the long term adequacy of Social Security benefits for millions of Americans … we hope that you will act swiftly and responsibly before the end of this year," the letter stated. .The most widely-discussed proposals to revamp Social Security include raising the eligibility age, making the benefit formula less generous, and reducing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Reducing COLAs would impact the lifetime Social Security benefits of all current beneficiaries, as well as affecting future retirees. Under discussion is a proposal that would reduce COLAs by switching to a more slowly-growing, "chained" consumer price index to calculate the annual benefit boost. In fact the new tax law, recently did something similar. Indexing of income tax brackets, the standard deduction, and other parameters of the tax code for inflation was tied to a chained COLA. That means that people will pay higher taxes over time, as the standard deduction becomes less generous, while rising income would tend to push older taxpayers into higher brackets. .In June, the Medicare trustees estimated that Part B premiums will rise only .50 in 2019, from 4 to 5.50. However, according to a recent survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League, roughly 25 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are currently paying less than 4 per month due to a special "hold harmless" provision of law. Their Part B premium hikes will be much larger than .50, offsetting a larger portion of the 2019 COLA. ."Higher gasoline and transportation prices in particular are behind the high COLA estimate for 2022, because those expenditures are given greater weight or importance in the consumer price index (CPI) that's used to calculate the COLA. That works to the advantage of retired and disabled beneficiaries for the COLA payable in January of 202That has not been the case for many of the past 12 years when cheap gasoline, and other falling prices dragged down the COLA. Since 2010, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%. Inflation was so low that no COLA was payable at all in 2010, 2011, and 201In 2017 the COLA was almost zero, just 0.3 percentage point. .The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support that policy?