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  • Our Government Thinks Your Cost Of Living Is Lower This Year Is It Really

    The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security .Johnson says that the federal government is looking at the wrong market basket to determine the annual change in prices in the goods and services used by retired and disabled Americans. According to Johnson, had the government used a more appropriate inflation index that measures costs experienced by people age 62 and older, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), retirees would get a COLA of 2.1 percent instead of 0.3 percent in 201"But instead, the COLA is based on the increased price of goods normally purchased by younger working adults," she notes. .Growing numbers of seniors are working longer, and delaying the start of benefits. According to a TSCL survey conducted early this year, 42 percent of seniors who are still working say they plan to delay the start of benefits until age 66 or thereafter. Those who continue to work, continue to pay Social Security, Medicare and other taxes as well. … Continued

  • Best Ways To Save August 2015

    Provide Social Security beneficiaries with an emergency COLA. Medical costs are on the rise, and many seniors are currently experiencing excessive prescription drug price increases of 1,000% or more. Those increases are not reflected in the COLA since it is based on the way young, urban workers spend their money, using the CPI-W. TSCL feels strongly that a modest one-time payment of 0 would give seniors much-needed relief next year. .Only five weeks remain before the conference committee's December 13th deadline, and House and Senate appropriators are urging the conferees to settle on a top-line spending number even earlier – before the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 22nd. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said this week: "We believe that if an agreement on a discretionary spending number can be reached early, it will allow for more thoughtful and responsible spending decisions." .Why should seniors be saddled with the ripple effect of things they don't even buy? That just doesn't make sense. … Continued

Be suspicious of products that claim to treat a wide range of diseases. .In response to heightened concerns over antibiotic resistance, two dozen of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies have formally launched a billion for-profit venture fund to replenish the global medicine chest with novel treatments. .Millions of Seniors Are Losing Benefits .Grassley's proposal has long been seen as the most likely major drug pricing legislation to reach Trump's desk. However, conservative groups dislike the bill's cap on drug pricing increases and the legislation's main Democratic sponsor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), recently withdrew from negotiations on the package. .On Tuesday, TSCL's Legislative Analyst, Jessie Gibbons, attended the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's first public hearing. The Committee heard testimony from Doug Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). .How Can We Cope With Debt In Retirement? .The age at which you start receiving Social Security benefits. .In addition, major changes to RMD rules were already underway prior to the CARES Act. The SECURE Act, which passed in 2019, extended the age requirement for starting RMDs. If you reach age 70 ½ in 2020 or thereafter, you may wait until April 1 of the year after you reach age 72 to take your first RMD. For you, that's April 1, 202That gives your 401(k) more time to recover. .Senator Richard Shelby (AL) – Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee – told reporters this week that a shutdown is possible. He said: "I'll just say that I don't think it's a good idea to shut the government down, period. But people are going to posture. And it could happen, it's happened before … I don't believe a shutdown's in my interest, the president's interest, the people's interest, either party's interest … But some people look at it differently."