William told TSCL this week: "Senior citizens have the most to lose because they are by far the largest population of people who find themselves in need of costly in-home or nursing home care. For Congress not to be concerned with the catastrophic effect this would cause is cruel and unusual indifference to elderly and disabled Americans." .If adopted, this key bill would improve Social Security COLAs by basing them on the CPI-E, and it would cover the cost by phasing out the payroll tax cap over the course of seven years. Together, these changes would improve the adequacy of Social Security benefits and strengthen the solvency of the Trust Funds past 2035. .Bottom line: Everyone in 2017 is expected to pay more for their Medicare Part B premiums. Any increase in benefits due to the COLA will be completely eaten up by the expected increase in Medicare Part B premiums. Nevertheless, for the majority of beneficiaries, the rising Part B premiums, at least, will not reduce benefits — but hold harmless protection only applies to Part B premiums. Any increase in the premiums of Medigap supplements, Part D, or Medicare Advantage plans would reduce one's Social Security income. In November, beneficiaries will be receiving notification through the mail of what they will pay for Medicare Part B in 2017. .Obama's new policy for illegal immigrants was recently announced and implemented without Congressional approval. Now questions are growing about the potential for widespread fraud — and with good reason, it seems. Less than two months after the government announced some 800,000 illegal immigrants would qualify for work authorization under the program, immigration policy analysts now say that more than twice that number, nearly 1.8 million, will qualify. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security appears to be accepting a surprisingly wide variety of evidence and supporting documents from applicants, hoping to prove that they qualify to stay in the U.S. and for temporary work authorization. .Call your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and ask for free counseling from a Medicare counselor. You can find local contact info here: https://www.shiptacenter.org. Many of these programs operate through local agencies on aging or senior services departments. Counselors can help you over the phone from home. .Spring Congressional Recess Continues .Social Security benefits are determined by the income earned (up to the taxable maximum) over a working career, and the number of years worked. The more money you make and pay taxes on, and the more years you work the larger your monthly Social Security benefit will be. The Social Security Administration calculates your benefits based on the 35 years in which you earned the most money. But many women, especially those who become mothers or caregivers, give up a substantial portion of their earnings to care for a family. .New legislation, called the "National Senior Investor Initiative Act" or "Senior Security Act" (H.R. 1565), was introduced earlier this month with two Democrats and two Republicans as cosponsors. .On Thursday, The Senior Citizens League estimated that Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2019, based on consumer price index (CPI) data through August. The official 2019 Social Security COLA will be announced next week – on Thursday, October 11th – following the release of the September CPI data.