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Sleep: Deep sleep helps the brain store and retain new facts and information. But the structural changes to our brain as we age interferes with the quality of our sleep. That in turn reduces our ability to store memories for the long term. To improve focus and memory, get better sleep. That's not always easy for people 65 and over, and there may be times when you need to speak to a doctor. The nonprofit Helpguide.org has tips on how to sleep better as we age..Plan your withdrawals to boost your Social Security benefits. While you want to allow your retirement savings to grow tax-deferred as long as you can, withdrawing money from an IRA earlier is sometimes to your advantage. Doing so may help you delay starting Social Security benefits, allowing your benefits to grow 8% for every year you wait after attaining age 66 and until age 70..The programs were struggling even before sequester. Federal funding has remained flat for years, even though about 10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day..12 Ways Seniors Would Get Less, Pay More.So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill..The other good news for seniors last week was the apparent victory of TSCL and other groups to stop the payroll tax cut. President Trump has been demanding the cut for months, and he had stated that he would not sign any new pandemic relief legislation if the payroll tax cut were not included..You can also get one-on-one counseling and assistance in applying through your State Health Insurance Program. Find the contact for your area online at: shiptacenter.org..Action on Capitol Hill remained slow this week, as both Houses of Congress have adjourned for the August recess. However, The Senior Citizens League did see support grow for two key pieces of legislation..So, we wanted to close this week's update with some good news, as reported by Bloomberg News.

Thrive The Value Of Values Understanding Yours May Help You Find Balance

I learned that my client's new brand name prescription cost more than a.Even more surprising is what isn't showing up on the list - medical costs. The cost of medical care services still increased 2.5 times faster than the COLA, rising by 3.2 percent. That's nothing new. In many years medical costs have increased more rapidly than in 2020. Emergency coronavirus legislation last spring restricted what providers could charge for many COVID-19 related services, and large numbers of patients and their doctors postponed non-urgent care..The billion could be financed without taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund. One way is through reduction of pork barrel spending and government waste. In the fiscal year 2001 budget alone, pork "watch-dog" Senator John McCain estimated that the government would spend a record billion in pork-barrel projects. … Continued

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The last time the Medicare Part A Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent was in 200At the time, the Part A Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent by 201Lucky for us that never happened - in 2017 at least. Congress enacted the 2010 Affordable Care Act which changed Medicare taxes in two ways. It added a 0.9% surtax to the amount of Medicare payroll taxes paid by high earning individuals with wages over 0,000. This was on top of the 1.45% that workers currently pay on their wages. A second provision affecting the more affluent, imposed a 3.8% tax on a portion of net investment income. Estates and trusts can also be subject to this tax..There are several ways it happens. One has to do with the type of SSN that was used for employment. The 2004 law requires work authorization in order to claim Social Security. But the law pertains only to individuals who received their SSN after January 1, 200If the individual was issued an SSN prior to January 1, 2004, like the 7 million non-work SSNs issued prior to 2003, the 2004 law prohibiting payment of Social Security does not apply. According to the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office, that group does not need to have ever received legal work authorization in order to claim benefits - they may have worked illegally their entire careers..Since you were born in 1954, however, you qualify to use a "restricted application" strategy to maximize your benefits at full retirement age. Waiting just two more years could significantly boost lifetime Social Security income. People born after 1954 may no longer use this strategy, so consider this: … Continued