By making decisions now before her health changes, your sister can have more choices and a better chance of telling you "she only wished she would have moved sooner." Doing this together may have you saying the same thing. .Cutting off the flow of benefits when a Social Security recipient dies is important to protect program finances from going to people who aren't entitled to them. The Social Security Administration maintains a list of deceased beneficiaries called the "Death Master File" to help public agencies and private companies know when a Social Security number is no longer valid. Keeping that list up to date is vitally important. But a new report from the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration confirms that the Social Security Administration indeed has a major problem. .Lawmakers from both the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts this week to continue the month-long August recess. They are expected to return to Washington on September 5th, following the Labor Day holiday. .Super-Committee Republicans offer a 300 billion dollar tax-revenue concession. After an initial pledge not to raise taxes over the next decade, Republicans are willing to allow tax increases to help meet the 1.2 trillion dollar debt-reduction mandate by November 23rd. .For example, you may want to suggest that your sister put a simple plan into writing. The plan should outline how she wants to live. It's important for your sister to consider who is going to take care of her, if there's an emergency, or, if she needs someone to drive her to or from doctors' appointments. Do you have such a plan for your own long-term care? Perhaps this is something the two of you can do together. Your sister is not too young to start her plan. In fact, age 78 is an ideal age to put a plan in place, and, even to consider moving into a senior living community. .(Washington, DC) – The percentage of retired households that expect to pay tax on their Social Security benefits has experienced a rare decline this tax season, but that appears to be due to a much higher level of uncertainty than usual ahead of this tax season according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "This could potentially mean lower than expected tax revenues for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League .Sources: "Social Security The Notch Issue," GAO-HRD-88-62, March 1988, page 1Financial Management, Challenges in Meeting Requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act, GAO-05-417, March 200"Annual Statistical Survey 2004, Social Security Administration, Table 5.A.1. .TSCL is relieved that Congress has finally reached an agreement after weeks of heated negotiations. Another government shutdown like the one that occurred for sixteen days in 2013 could have resulted in delayed Social Security checks or interrupted reimbursements for doctors who treat Medicare patients. We will follow the movement of the deal very closely in the coming days, until it is signed into law by President Obama. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook or our new Twitter page for frequent updates. .A majority of seniors 65 and older who receive Social Security depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income. TSCL is fighting proposals to cut COLAs. TSCL believes that seniors could receive a more fair COLA if the government were to use a consumer price index that more closely tracked the spending patterns of seniors.