Those participating in The Senior Citizens League's annual senior survey, which is still being conducted, confirm that monthly household expenses made steep increases over the past year, far in excess of the dollar amount that their COLAs increased benefits. The 2.8 percent COLA raised the average Social Security benefit of ,400 by about per month this year. Yet more than 78 percent of survey participants report that their household spending rose by more than .00 per month in 201"When costs climb more rapidly than benefits, retirees must spend down retirement savings more quickly than expected, and those without savings or other retirement income are either going into debt, or going without," Johnson says..Month after month, year after year, unbeknownst to most of the public, thousands of people with no Social Security number are receiving Social Security benefits. The beneficiaries don't qualify for benefits based on their own work record. Eighty-three percent of them don't even reside in this country. A few of those receiving benefits are even dead..Congress is now in recess and is not scheduled to start again until April 20. Of course, that could change, depending on the situation with the spread of the virus..Calling it an "economic imperative," President Obama continues to call for comprehensive immigration reform that would provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants. A day after the President outlined his plan in a speech on the border with Mexico, immigration reform legislation known as the "DREAM Act" was reintroduced in the Senate..The prospects for an adequate Cost-of-Living Adjustment boost for 2013 are dimming. The rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is decelerating at the fastest pace in three years. A low COLA would leave the seniors, especially those with the lowest Social Security benefits, with less money to cover Medicare premiums that are automatically deducted from monthly payments..The program is projected to have enough tax income to pay about 23% less than currently scheduled, according to the Congressional Research Service. But economists warn that without changes to reduce the deficit, the Social Security Trust Fund will get into trouble long before the program is scheduled to become insolvent. Indeed, beneficiaries got a glimpse of what may lay ahead during last summer's battle over the debt limit. According to estimates from the Bi-partisan Policy Center, the federal government did not have sufficient revenues to cover Social Security benefits last August. Congress came within hours of a default on what it owed to the Trust Fund, and thus falling short on money needed to pay benefits before enacting legislation..We need to work together to reduce the deficit in a balanced way, not on the backs of seniors and middle class families who have worked hard, contributed their fair share and played by the rules all their lives. I ran for Congress to fight for Illinois seniors and I'll continue to do my part to protect and preserve Medicare, so it will be strong for the working families I represent for the next forty-eight years and beyond..Medicare Part B premiums were found to be the fastest growing cost for seniors, increasing by 195 percent over the eighteen-year period. Average out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs followed closely behind, increasing by 188 percent. Meanwhile, between 2000 and 2018 the COLA increased Social Security benefits by only 46 percent..Lawmakers Reach Deal to Avert Fiscal Cliff
