News

  • Ask The Advisor March April 2020

    When you buy an immediate annuity, you give up control of a hefty lump-sum of your retirement savings and you can't change your mind and get your money back once you buy it. When you and your beneficiary die, no money goes to your heirs. .To learn more about President Obama's Executive Action On Immigration, see TSCL's F.A.Q.: "What Does "Executive Action" On Immigration Have To Do With Social Security and Medicare?" .Changes to federal immigration policy affect the revenues that Social Security and Medicare receive and would also increase the number of people eligible for benefits in the future, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Both Social Security and Medicare face solvency and funding challenges. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending August 16 2013

    As we reported then, the study by the National Board of Economic Research, (NBER) explored how "cost-sharing", in other words co-pays and premiums, can affect patient choices and patient health. The researchers examined Medicare data and found that a relatively modest increase in drug costs ( per prescription) lead to a 33% increase in mortality. .(Washington, DC) – Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) would need to double their rate of growth and Medicare Part B premium increases would need to slow by half their historic rate to provide greater Social Security benefit adequacy, says a new report from The Senior Citizens League. Using the federal government's economic projections for the Social Security COLA and Medicare Part B premium estimates over the next decade, the study examined how well Social Security benefits would cover Part B premiums increases in coming years. .At Thursday's hearing, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (TX-3) and Ranking Member John Larson (CT-3) both spoke about how their Social Security reform bills would improve the program's financing. Chairman Johnson's bill – the Social Security Reform Act – would do so primarily through benefit cuts, while Ranking Member Larson's bill – the Social Security 2100 Act – would do so primarily through revenue increases. Mr. Goss confirmed that both bills – using two very different approaches – would return the program to 75-year solvency if adopted. … Continued

Shoring up the Medicare Part A Trust Fund will be more difficult. Simply cutting payments to hospitals would not be in the best interests of patients or hospitals, because many medical centers are already faltering financially. ." ‘If it comes to getting my family members vaccinated, and all that's available is J&J or Novavax, I'd tell them to take it,' said Robert Hancock, president of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians." .(Washington, DC) – Older Americans overwhelmingly support legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The online survey, which had over 1,234 participants, found that 88 percent support tying prescription drug prices to what other industrialized countries, such as Great Britain, Canada and Japan, pay for the same drug. .TSCL agrees that lawmakers must take action soon to stabilize the individual health insurance market and to bring down skyrocketing prescription drug prices. In the coming months, our legislative team will continue to monitor and support legislation like the Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (S. 771, H.R. 1776), which would reduce costs and improve care for older Americans. For updates on this bill and others like it, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. .Finally, two cosponsors also signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 896 and H.R. 1795) this week, bringing the total up to eleven in the Senate and eighty-five in the House. The new cosponsors are Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (CA-47). If signed into law, H.R. 1795 would repeal two provisions of the Social Security Act that unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. The provisions – the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset – prevent dedicated public servants from receiving the retirement security they have earned. . 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… .Legislation to Stop Medicare Cuts Passes in Senate .Millions of Seniors Are Losing Benefits .TSCL strongly supports legislation that would correct how COLAs are calculated to more accurately represent what seniors and the disabled must spend on their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We strongly encourage you to contact your Members of Congress and attend local town halls during the upcoming campaign season. Help us make the case why a fair and adequate COLA is a necessity to protect Social Security benefits from losing buying power as costs rise.