Prior to 1984 Social Security benefits weren't taxed, and when the tax on benefits was first enacted in 1983, Congress sold it to the public saying it affected "high income" beneficiaries. At that time, only 10% of Social Security beneficiaries paid the tax. But during the 2015 tax season, an estimated 56% of Social Security beneficiary households will owe federal income taxes on part of their benefit income according to the Social Security Administration..It they can't do that they will have to pass a longer CR which would take the funding issue well into January of next year and the new Congress will have to deal with it as its first order of business..TSCL will watch closely to see what, if anything, is introduced in Congress to boost Social Security payments for seniors and we will keep you posted as things move forward..Once lawmakers return from next week's holiday break, they will have just a few days to pass a continuing resolution to keep most of the federal government operating past December 7th. Should they fail to reach an agreement before then, part of the federal government will shut down like it did earlier this year. The Senior Citizens League is hopeful that lawmakers will act responsibly to keep the federal government fully funded so that essential programs like Social Security and Medicare can operate as smoothly as possible..Looming over all of this is the traditional August recess of Congress. That tradition started back before the discovery of electricity and therefore air conditioning. August is normally the hottest month of the year in Washington so they would all leave town to go somewhere to stay cool..Apply for Extra Help. Extra Help is the Medicare program for low-income seniors that can help with most, or all of the cost of your drug plan premium, deductible, and co-pays. You also get valuable coverage in the Part D coverage gap. If you qualify, you would pay between - for each drug. Apply even if you aren't sure, because the income requirements are not as stringent as those for State Pharmacy assistance programs..Higher Medigap costs: Experts say that beneficiaries with Medigap supplements tend to use more services than those without such coverage. Currently the plans often cover part or most of the deductibles and the co-insurance. Lawmakers from both parties propose requiring beneficiaries enrolled in Medigap plans to pay more through higher deductibles and co-payments. President Obama's 2014 budget plan called for imposing a new surcharge on beneficiaries who buy Medigap plans in 2017..7 Questions That Must Be Addressed About Social Security.Since 2009 the COLA was zero in 2010, 2011, and 2016, and only 0.3 percent in 201Since 2010, the COLA has averaged just 1.2 percent, compared to the prior decade, 2000 through 2009, when the COLA averaged 4 percent.

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Both the SSA and AARP say that "fixing" the Notch would be a costly mistake that would drain dollars from the Social Security Trust Fund reserve. In 1992 one popular piece of legislation to provide improved monthly benefits was estimated to cost 0 billion. To counter these concerns, alternative "capped-cost" legislation has been introduced. "The Notch Fairness Act of 2001" would provide those born from 1917 through 1926 their choice of either improved monthly benefits, or a Lump-Sum of ,000 payable over a four-year period. The cost of Lump-Sum legislation is estimated to be billion, or slightly less than .25 billion per year over a four-year period..Under current law, no legal guarantee to Social Security benefits exists, even for those who meet all required eligibility criteria. This means that Congress may enact unexpected benefit cuts or the Social Security Administration may pay reduced benefits if the necessary funds are unavailable..For the study, a group of 658 people ages 65 and older and free of dementia were given MRI brain scans. Participants also underwent tests that measured their memory, language, speed at processing information and visual perception. A total of 174 of the participants had silent strokes. … Continued

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While you probably won't find any single professional who can provide you with all the answers you may need for your mom, most areas of the country have access to an Agency on Aging that can help put you in touch with a number of valuable resources and people who can answer your questions. Most agencies serve specific geographic areas of several neighboring counties, although some operate statewide in less populated states. All Area Agencies on Aging receive federal funding that is supplemented with additional state and local funding..Now a leading budget policy organization is pushing Congress to fully offset the cost of building the wall and other new spending and tax cuts with entitlement cuts - specifically, adopting the more slowly-growing Chained Consumer Price Index to calculate annual Cost of Living Adjustments. That's a change that would cut federal spending by about 0 billion, the group estimates..Social Security and Medicare remain the targets of plans to reduce federal spending. Over the past 12 months, both Members of Congress and President Obama came close to agreeing on cuts to Social Security benefits, including cost-of-living adjustments and making seniors pay more for their Medicare. How much are Social Security benefits worth over a lifetime and what can you count on? A baby boomer retiring with an "average" benefit of ,100 in 2011 can expect to receive 0,225 over ten years, and 3,641 if he or she lives twenty-five years, due to the compounding effect of the cost-of-living adjustments. … Continued

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