News

Mortgage rates and home costs have been at historic lows in 2012, but buying or selling a home is complicated for anyone - and seniors have special issues. Depending on your financial situation and needs, here are some points to consider:.Prices for and Spending on Specialty Drugs in Medicare Part D and Medicaid, Congressional Budget Office, March 2019..My husband and I are both 65 and won't turn 66 until later in 201I'm entitled to a monthly benefit of 0 at 66, and my husband a benefit of about ,300. He originally planned to "file and then suspend" his benefit at 66 and continue working until age 70 while his benefit grew. Meanwhile at 66, I was hoping to take a spouse benefit based on his earnings of ,150. That would also provide me with a higher survivors benefit of almost ,100 per month by 2021 should anything happen to him. Because of the recent changes is this strategy no longer available to us?.Extremely low Social Security cost of living adjustments have significantly impacted the retirement income of almost two-thirds of all older Americans, according to a new analysis by The Senior Citizens League. "People who have been receiving Social Security benefits since 2009 - an estimated 64 percent of all beneficiaries - have been hit with the full brunt of extremely low COLAs over the past nine years," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson. "Nine years is about one third the length of a typical retirement," Johnson points out. "Younger retirees since 2009 are also feeling the pain," she notes..Rather than cutting back on one or two drugs, there was a large group that stopped filling most if not all their prescriptions as copays went up.."TSCL believes that Congress must get started and put forward plans for Social Security Disability soon. "To prevent benefit cuts, Social Security recipients need to get involved to learn about proposed changes and provide vigorous feedback to lawmakers about what the public will accept," Cates says. What do you think? Visit TSCL's website at and take a poll..Article I of the United States Bill of Rights guarantees citizens the right to petition the government for "redress" of grievances. Individuals build greater political clout when they join forces with other like-minded activists to press for change. Time is running out for Notch Babies. TSCL members and their families, friends, and supporters will not allow the Notch Issue to quietly die away, but will continue to press for compensating those born during the Notch period as long as they set that as their number one legislative goal..Your friend should be commended for being sharp and perceptive enough to anticipate her own needs. All too often discussions about changes in one's housing and assisted living occur during a health crisis. But because your friend lives alone, she needs someone like you to talk about the "red flags" that you both may start to notice, and she may need help working up plans for the next life phase..Surveys show a majority of Americans would like to see an increase in the Social Security payroll tax, but a new tax reform proposal would eliminate the 12.4 percent payroll tax altogether. This would end Social Security as we know it and transform it into a welfare program for older Americans. Do you support this drastic new proposal?