A divorce can throw a monkey wrench into retirement plans, especially for women whose earning records may have fewer work years and at lower earnings than their former spouses. Understanding your options can help you maximize your Social Security benefit and live a more secure retirement. Here are the four main eligibility rules to qualify for a benefit based on the work record of an ex-spouse:.Lawmakers Debate Spending Bill, Immigration.This is obviously an area of concern for many TSCL members who get their prescriptions delivered through the mail as well as though who receive monthly checks by mail. If you have problems with late delivery, we urge you to contact your own Senators and Representative and let them know. Congress needs to put pressure on the postal service to get this problem fixed..Sen. John Cornyn introduced H.R. 1190 on January 8, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..Federal law requires noncitizens who earn income in the U.S. to file tax returns. In order for a person who isn't eligible for an SSN to do this, the Internal Revenue Service provides an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to facilitate the filing of tax returns. The number looks very similar to an SSN, having nine digits. Although that number does not authorize the number holder to work, undocumented workers use them to get jobs. More than 7.8 million ITINs were issued between 2005 and 20The Social Security Administration itself is another major source of abused numbers. Between 1974 and 2003 the SSA issued 7 million "non-work" SSNs. The cards are clearly printed NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT and they do not authorize noncitizen number holders to work. Audits by the Social Security Inspector General have found these numbers are widely misused by illegal workers..The flowers in the vase don't have enough water..The new Congress has been sworn into office but little in the way of legislation regarding Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid has yet been introduced. As we all are no doubt aware, there have been other things on Congress' plate the last week or two, to say the least. But once President Biden is sworn into office this Wednesday Congress will return and the legislative season will be off and running..Finally, Rep. Rodney Davis's Social Security Fairness Act gained eight new cosponsors this week, bringing the total up to forty-six. They are: Reps. John Tierney, Joe Courtney, Julia Brownley, Aaron Schock, Peter Welch, James McGovern, Lois Capps, and Elijah Cummings. If signed into law, H.R. 1795 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year..The program is projected to have enough tax income to pay about 23% less than currently scheduled, according to the Congressional Research Service. But economists warn that without changes to reduce the deficit, the Social Security Trust Fund will get into trouble long before the program is scheduled to become insolvent. Indeed, beneficiaries got a glimpse of what may lay ahead during last summer's battle over the debt limit. According to estimates from the Bi-partisan Policy Center, the federal government did not have sufficient revenues to cover Social Security benefits last August. Congress came within hours of a default on what it owed to the Trust Fund, and thus falling short on money needed to pay benefits before enacting legislation.
