People who don't have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments, including those still working and who haven't started Social Security yet..If adopted, it would provide beneficiaries with a 2 percent benefit boost, base cost-of-living adjustments on the more accurate Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, create a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits for millions of seniors. It would also extend the solvency of the program through the year 2100 without cutting benefits for current or future retirees. TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1902 this week, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of this year..A 2004 law forbids the payment of Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants in the U.S. unless they receive legal work authorization at some point. The scope of that law appears much more vague under Totalization. It appears that illegal Mexican workers would only need to return to Mexico to file a claim for benefits. Under current policy, once a worker becomes eligible for Social Security, the U.S. Social Security Administration determines entitlement based on all earnings, even from jobs worked illegally..Nearly, 1.5 million people are affected by the WEP, which reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, a teacher who spends his or her summers working a second job or a police officer who leaves the force after years of service but is not quite ready to retire can see their benefits reduced by as much as 40 percent. However, a similar worker with a private sector pension would not see this kind of reduction. We are punishing public sector employees such as our teachers, firefighters, and police officers..In addition, one new cosponsor Rep. Bobby Rush signed on to the Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act this week. Rep. Rush is the eleventh Member of Congress to pledge his support for the bill. If signed into law, it would comprehensively reform the prescription drug industry to reduce costs for consumers..TSCL is pleased that lawmakers on the Senate Aging Committee are raising awareness of scams against seniors and we agree that more must be done to combat the growing issue. In the months ahead, we will advocate for legislation that would protect older Americans from financial abuse. In the meantime, we encourage our supporters to read the Aging Committee's updated Fraud Book by clicking HERE. As Chairman Collins said on Wednesday, "The more that seniors know about these scams, the less likely they are to fall victim.".The Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration recently said that office is assessing the impact from COVID-19, but the smaller than expected year over - year increase appears to be due to excess deaths. About 80% of the deaths from COVID-19 were people age 65 and older - more than 374,004 people, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..Congress has reallocated payroll taxes at least 9 times in the past to temporarily avert trust fund financing crises, according to the Congressional Research Service. "Doing so now would be much more difficult, because the retirement program is in cash deficit, and the government is borrowing money to cover retirement and survivor benefits," Cates points out. "Reallocation from the retirement trust fund would mean the government would have to borrow more, a recipe for more explosive debt limit show downs in coming months," he says. "The situation could put all Social Security benefits, including retirement and survivors benefits, at risk of cuts in debt limit negotiations," Cates explains..Without a doubt, the idea of starting Social Security benefits before you reach your full retirement age has strong appeal. But consider this: statistics indicate that about half of today's working age households who are close to retirement age will not be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
