Social Security Administration data indicate that, since 2000, the ESF grew at an unprecedented pace. According to TSCL's new report since 2000, the SSA has received, on average, 8.8 million suspicious wage reports annually. Cumulative wages in the ESF since 1980 now total more than .2 trillion, unadjusted for inflation. Wages are of importance because Social Security benefits are based on an individual's earnings record, not the taxes paid in. .I heard that Medicare would be mailing new cards. When can I expect to get mine? .By Representative Mike Kelly (PA-3) .Voters are worried about the impact that midterm elections could have on Social Security benefits. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that recent tax reform will add .8 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. To make matters worse, the Social Security trustees recently reported program financing has eroded, and estimated that the trust funds will run short by 2034, due to lower-than-expected revenue from tax law changes. .Compare your drug and health plan options NOW during the Medicare Open Enrollment period before it ends on December 7th. Does your current drug plan even cover your expensive new prescription? If not, you need to check your other options. Chances are another plan will. Use the Drug and Health Plan Finder at www.Medicare.gov. Make sure you carefully enter every prescription drug you take in order to get a custom comparison of your best drug plan choices. Costs can vary by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, and you may be very surprised by the savings from switching to a better plan. .Home Sale Stalled, But Mom Needs To Move .Tuesday's hearing made it clear that the Joint Committee has an enormous amount of work to do in a very short amount of time and in a very politically-charged environment. Adding to the pressure, Elmendorf told the Committee Members that if they wish to have their proposal scored by the CBO before voting on it, they'll need to submit it by early November, giving them less than two months to reach a compromise. Despite the tough circumstances, most Members seemed up to the challenge and will to, as one Committee Member put it, "go big, go long, and go smart." .The age at which you start receiving full Social Security benefits varies depending upon the year you were born. For people like you who turn 66 in 2021, your full retirement age is 66 and two months. For more retirement planning information visit www.SocialSecurity.gov. .Pfizer and Moderna also are studying the effect of their vaccines on asymptomatic infections.