Recently I read about a stimulus proposal that would allow people who are out of work to access ,000 of Social Security benefits in advance, in exchange for waiting a few months longer to get benefits when. Ask the Advisor: April/May 2020 I'm Entitled to a Pension for Work as a City Cop… .About 75 million people in the U.S. are 60 and older. Recently, about four-fifths of the nation's Covid deaths have occurred in that population. .The Senior Citizens League believes that Social Security benefits and annual COLAs could be strengthened three ways: .While the reasons for that are still being explored, it is likely the wearing of masks, frequent hand washing and staying away from crowds contributed to those results. .Your daughter can get free one-on-one counseling for her father-in-law through your State Health Insurance Program (SHIP). For more information about the Medicare Part B delayed enrollment penalty visit the Medicare interactive website of the Medicare Rights Center. .While others want to privatize and dismantle Social Security, I'm fighting to honor our commitments to retirees and fix a broken system. .Which dentists and dental specialists in your area are in the plan's network? Does the dental plan require you to use a network of dentists, or do you have the freedom to choose any provider who accepts your insurance? Are you willing to switch dentists in order for your care to be covered? It's especially important to learn what periodontists and other specialists in your area are in the dental plan's network. If you need to get a tooth pulled and an implant, but no periodontist accepts your dental coverage, you may wind up needing to spend ,000 or more out-of-pocket for an implant. .It accelerated the closing of the "doughnut hole." Under prior law, the Medicare Part D coverage gap or "doughnut hole" was set to close in 2020. The Bipartisan Budget Act accelerated the closing of the gap so that it will occur one year earlier, in 201Instead of paying a coinsurance rate of 30% in the "doughnut hole," beneficiaries will pay 25%. And instead of brand-name drug manufacturers providing 50% discounts in the doughnut hole, they will begin providing 70% discounts. This means that more than one million Medicare Part D beneficiaries will pay less for their prescription drugs next year when they reach the gap in coverage. .Some Members of Congress are calling for Congress to strike a deficit reduction deal of their own. Although gridlock may occur and would hardly be surprising, TSCL remains adamantly opposed to a key proposal that would change the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) calculation. The proposal, which would affect not only future retirees but ALL retirees, would switch to a more slowly-growing consumer price index known as the "chained" CPI to calculate the annual COLA. This proposal that would reduce the lifetime Social Security income of seniors by potentially tens of thousands of dollars is one of the few areas of agreement between both Democrat and Republican negotiators. TSCL also strongly opposes proposals that would increase what seniors have to pay for the Medicare benefits.