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  • Notch Bulletin Help Us Stop Social Security Lump Sum For Immigrant Workers

    That estimate is based on consumer price index (CPI) data through August, but it could significantly change with the September CPI data. Estimating the COLA this year has been far more challenging than in previous years due to the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which are affecting the prices of gasoline, food, housing and other costs. "We've got a hurricane wild card this year," Johnson says. "When the COLA is announced in October 13th, my 1.8 percent estimate could be off the mark," she says. "This is especially so when you take a look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005," Johnson notes. .With about 1 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. .Most individual taxpayers will pay lower taxes, at least in the first few years, tax analysts say. But the tax cuts affecting middle-to-low-income people are temporary, and are set to expire in just eight years, by the end of 2025, while the tax cut for families in the very top income bracket is permanent. That's expected to leave the majority of taxpayers with higher tax bills down the road — something most people living on fixed income simply can't afford. TSCL is still assessing the expected impacts of the new legislation. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending February 16 2018

    In the past, supplemental benefits offered by MA plans were only required to be primarily health related and typically included dental, hearing or vision benefits. Starting in 2019, new supplemental benefits must be medically appropriate and recommended by a licensed provider as part of a care plan, and not offered simply to induce enrollment. Examples of the new supplemental benefits include adult day care services, in-home support services, home and bathroom safety devices, transportation, and home-based palliative care. However, to qualify for these benefits, you must be diagnosed with a condition for which these benefits are necessary, and the benefits must be listed by your physician as part of your plan of care. .To learn more about proposals that would affect your Medicare and Social Security benefits, to get tips on reducing your Medicare costs, and to sign up for TSCL's free online newsletter, The Social Security & Medicare Advisor, visit TSCL at . .The Board of Trustees for Social Security and Medicare recently released a bombshell of a report that shows this essential health safety net is coming apart at the seams. The report estimates the Medicare trust fund will run dry in 2024, five years earlier than last year's estimate, and went on to explain, "The fund is not adequately financed over the next ten years." In an alternate estimate also released, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chief Actuary Rick Foster painted an even more dire picture, reporting that Medicare's unfunded obligations could be significantly higher, and long-term costs could dramatically increase from the numbers provided in the Board of Trustee's report. … Continued

Raising Medicare Age Would Save 500 Billion Dollars .The new scams were quick to arise, and deft in their effectiveness. For example, in March of last year, the Social Security Administration posted an alert about a scam claiming that economic impact stimulus payments may be suspended or decreased due to office closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a lie. .Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turn 85 this year, while the oldest turn 9That's approximately 1.17 million. TSCL believes that roughly one quarter of Notch Babies receive Medicaid as well as Medicare. .Increase the retirement age: Raise both the eligibility age both for full benefits, currently at 66 and set to rise to 67 and, for the first time, raise the earliest eligibility age which is currently 62. .Senator Nelson also asked Congressman Price about his plans to privatize the Medicare program at Wednesday's hearing. A recent reform plan authored by the Congressman would transform the traditional Medicare program into a "premium support" model, where beneficiaries would be given vouchers from the federal government to purchase private insurance. In the past, Congressman Price has claimed that such plans would result in lower costs for both Medicare and its beneficiaries, but at Wednesday's hearing, Senator Nelson presented a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office that projected premium increases of at least 125 percent for seniors living in Florida and other heavily populated states. He expressed serious concerns about the privatization of Medicare since his constituents would see higher medical costs. .Why does that happen? . You bring up an important gap in our Social Security protections. In order for children to qualify for a Social Security dependent benefit, that benefit would need to be based on an account of a parent who meets eligibility requirements for Social Security and is deceased, disabled, or retired. The parent would need to meet the eligibility rules in order for your grandson to receive a benefit based on the parent's account. However, if the biological parent has not yet met all eligibility rules then, in order to receive a Social Security benefit, you would need to first adopt the child so that he qualifies for a benefit based on your account. .SGR Repeal Unlikely This Month .The new study takes a closer look at the Social Security "hold harmless" provision. Typically, Social Security benefits tend to grow slightly each year as COLAs compound over time. But when the Medicare premium increases more than an individual's COLA that can trigger this special provision of law. Hold harmless protects Social Security benefits when the dollar amount of an individual's annual COLA increase is not sufficient to cover the increase in the Medicare Part B premium increase. If the increase in Medicare Part B premium would cause an individual's net Social Security benefit to be less than it was the year before, then the Part B premium is reduced to ensure the individual's Social Security benefit does not decline.