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While the majority of workers pay Social Security on 100% of their earnings, people who earn the most, more than 8,500 a year, pay NOTHING on earnings over that amount..What other ways would I be affected by this Chained COLA?.Medicare Extra Help helps pay for some, or most, of the out-of-pocket costs for Medicare prescription drug coverage. It is also known as the Part D "Low-Income" subsidy. Extra Help pays for the Part D premium up to a certain amount, lowers the cost of your prescription drugs, gives you special enrollment periods to switch plans, and eliminates the Part D late enrollment penalty if you did not enroll in Part D by your original deadline. If your income is under ,615 or ,175 and you have limited savings and resources, you might be eligible. Apply for Medicare Extra Help on the Social Security website..consider policies from companies that sell long-term insurance plans in.age 65 in 2008 or later)..TSCL encourages you to stay informed and ask questions about any and all issues that matter to you! Our site offers information on how to contact your Member of Congress, weekly and monthly legislative updates, petitions, and congressional responses to our petitions. Simply click on the links on the right-hand side of your screen..In a statement that was released after the final vote, Senator McCain said: "We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of the aisle, heed the recommendations of the nation's governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve." In addition, Senator Murkowski told reporters: "We cannot let the public believe that we are done with health care. We're just beginning.".According to Rep. Cartwright, Direct Care Workers currently provide 70-80 percent of the paid, hands-on care that those with chronic illnesses receive. However, they are not recognized as "essential contributors" to teams that provide care, and they do not receive the advanced training that is needed for them to realize their full potential. S. 2251 and H.R. 4445 would address this issue, and TSCL believes if signed into law, the bill would go a long way in ensuring that seniors receive coordinated, quality medical care..At what age do you think most people retire? According to the Social Security Administration, the largest group retires at age 62 with reduced benefits! Only 4% wait to start benefits at 70, the age at which they would get the maximum amount. Could the fact that most people file for Social Security benefits so early be simply because they hear so often that they can do so at 62? Does 62 become a distorting anchor on our thinking?

Phillips Eye Institute Foundation The Irving And Janet Shapiro Innovative Technology Fund

Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced S. 2023 on September 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 1776, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website..Refinance and renovate. If you find your current mortgage payment is too high, refinancing to get either a lower monthly payment or to take cash out may be an option. Before you refinance, have a long–term repayment plan, a budget, and you may want to discuss your needs with an independent financial advisor. If you are refinancing to renovate an older home, think long and hard about how much longer you plan to stay in your home, and how well your current housing will serve you as your health changes. Get bids from contractors, and be sure to include costs for new appliances, carpets, and fixtures. Will you have sufficient income and savings to cover a mortgage payment and still have money for repairs and maintenance ten or twenty years from now? Can you recover your renovation investment if you have to move and sell sooner than you planned? Take time to shop and carefully compare terms on loans - don't be hurried into making a decision. Loan officers always push you to "lock in a rate." Always ask for a "good faith" estimate and an estimate of the closing costs. … Continued

The Canvass May 2013

Compare your drug and health plan options during the Medicare Open Enrollment period October 15th - December 7th. Does your current drug plan cover expensive new prescriptions? If not, you need to check your other options. Chances are another plan will. Use the Drug and Health Plan Finder at. Make sure you carefully enter every prescription drug you take in order to get a custom comparison of your best drug plan choices. Costs can vary by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, and you may be very surprised by the savings from switching to a better plan. You can get unbiased help to compare your coverage. Call your Area Agency on Aging and ask for the help of a State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselor, or visit online..To begin with, it will apply only to some seniors, depending on which Medicare supplement program they enroll in, and it is completely voluntary on the part of both the supplement provider and the individual enrolled in Medicare..House Republicans surprised the nation earlier this year by approving an increase to the federal budget debt limit in exchange for passing the "No Budget, No Pay Act." The legislation required Members of Congress in both chambers to pass a budget resolution by April 15, 2013, or their pay would be withheld until they do. According to a TSCL poll, 62 percent of seniors thought the "No Budget, No Pay Act" was a smart move that would get the legislative process back on track. … Continued