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This week, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts for the week-long Independence Day holiday recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, July 10th..Barbara has a number of ways she tries to cope. She qualifies for an age reduction waiver on real estate taxes, and energy assistance to help cover the cost of heating her home. To save on her phone bill, she asked her phone company for a discount and got it. She uses shopping points from Kroger where she buys groceries to save money on gasoline.."'It's modest in terms of efficacy. It's [statistically] significant, but it may not be observable by the family or caregiver or even the physician,'" he said. "'I would tell them this is not a cure - something to set the expectation that this is likely not going to be a dramatic improvement, but this could be something more subtle.'".If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset two provisions of the Social Security Act that cut the earned benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants each year. Because these individuals receive pensions from their state or local governments, their monthly Social Security checks are arbitrarily reduced, often by one-half or more..The upcoming tax season is expected to be especially challenging. A little planning now can help you lower your tax bill come April 15th. Here are 6 ways to minimize the bill, but always consult your tax advisor first before taking action:.Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson explained the origin of the issue in his opening statement, saying: "Both the House and Senate wanted to modify the benefit formula for those workers who spent part of their careers not paying Social Security taxes. I guess it should come as no surprise that the House and Senate didn't agree on the numbers … As tends to happen here they ended up somewhere in the middle.".Earlier this month, House lawmakers voted on a balanced budget amendment to the constitution that would have been disastrous for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries if adopted. Did you support this drastic measure, and if so, why?.retirement benefits later on when you stop working. If you've delayed starting.The health-related negatives of fried food include generally higher calories and fat, as well as extra salt and a tastiness that often leads people to eat multiple servings, which contributes to weight problems.

Health Costs Report Prescription Drug Coverage For Medicare Beneficiaries A 4

With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors' groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association..Since it was first signed into law over 75 years ago, Social Security has kept tens of millions of senior citizens and disabled Americans of all ages out of poverty and ensured that they could live dignified and independent lives. I believe that the COLA is an essential part of Social Security that must be calculated accurately. That is why I have fought to protect seniors by introducing the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act in successive Congresses. This bill would give our seniors a Social Security COLA that actually reflects their cost of living..'Let the Crime Spree Begin': How Fraud Flourishes In Medicare's Drug Plan, Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, December 19, 201Listen to this story on NPR. … Continued

Blog A Glance In The Rearview Mirror 2019 Tax Trends Part 1

In most years, seniors receive a small increase in their Social Security checks, intended to help them keep up with rising costs. But since 2000, the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment has increased benefits just 38 percent while typical senior expenses have jumped 81 percent, more than twice as fast. Inflation has been at historic lows in recent years and seniors received a 1.7 percent COLA this year..Complicating matters, even though the Social Security retirement and survivors trust fund still holds IOUs that at least provide the promise to pay benefits, the Social Security disability program is in much more critical condition. The Social Security Trustees recently warned that the SSDI program may run out of IOU "assets" and become fully insolvent as early as 201TSCL believes that estimate is overly optimistic because the Trustees may be assuming there are more payroll taxes than the program is actually taking in. The Trustees assume that unemployment will be only 6.5% over the next few years - but today it's actually far higher - 9.6%. Advisor editor and Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson estimates that the insolvency date for the Social Security Disability Insurance program could arrive as early as 2013..He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Manassas Museum in Manassas, Virginia, and a former board member of the Retiresafe association. … Continued