Nourish Healthy Holiday Eating For TwoFailing To Lift The Debt Limit Would Put Social Security Checks On Hold."But all bets would be off if the current payroll tax system is eliminated, or changed to something else," Johnson says. Getting rid of the payroll tax raises a great many questions as to how benefits would be calculated. Currently, retirement benefits are calculated on the 35 years of highest earnings. "Because wages tend to grow over time, replacing the current system with something else could mean lower benefits," Johnson points out..A new study has found that it is more than prices that are high when it comes to so many prescription drugs. According to Modern Healthcare newsletter, "A .40 increase in out-of-pocket costs per prescription was associated with a 22.6% drop in consumption and a 32.7% increase in monthly mortality rates, an analysis of more than 358,000 relatively healthy 65-year-old Medicare beneficiaries found." … Continued
Yuri GelfandAs we've reported in the past, the Democrats have the narrowest of majorities in both the House and the Senate. They can't afford to lose any Democratic votes in the Senate and only 3 in the House. That's crucial because Republicans in both Houses are almost unanimously opposed to the legislation Democrats want to pass, so Democrats have to do it on their own..The coronavirus emergency spending bill that Congress just passed was not "paid for," in Washington's language. It was added to the deficit, which means the government will borrow the money to pay for it..Either way, you will need to consider how well your income, including Social Security, retirement savings, pension and other income will allow you to sustain mortgage payments over the refinancing periods. It's also helpful to use realistic budget expenses. That means estimating how taxes will reduce your Social Security and retirement income, and factoring in a realistic growth rate for medical expenses of at least 10% or more each year, to account for both rising prices and the greater need for services as we age. … Continued
