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To determine if a portion of the taxpayer's Social Security benefits are taxable, half of Social Security benefits are added to the adjusted gross income, plus any tax - exempt interest, and certain other tax - exempt income. "Few people today think of an adjusted gross income of as little as ,000 -,000 as 'substantial' income," Johnson says. To calculate the taxable portion of benefits, taxpayers can find a worksheet in IRS publication 915..This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Medicare. Signed into law by President Johnson on July 30, 1965, Medicare has proven itself to be an American success story. At the time of enactment, only half of America's seniors had health insurance, leaving an already vulnerable population one illness away from financial ruin. Medicare ensures that seniors will get the health coverage they worked a lifetime for. It provides seniors and their families with peace of mind and allows all Americans to age with dignity. In my home state of Pennsylvania alone, over 2.3 million seniors rely on Medicare for their health coverage..Earlier this year Goss confirmed this when he estimated the impact of the president's executive actions on Social Security, saying that the initiative would increase the number of people paying into Social Security and it "will also result in additional individuals gaining insured status for benefits from Social Security." Goss estimated that "the executive actions do not change the year in which the combined trust fund reserves would become depleted, but the projected depletion would occur later in the year 2033,.".How would this compare with the "senior" CPI, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly ? Estimates for TSCL indicate that if the CPI-E were to be used to determine the COLA for 2017 the COLA would be 1.7% - 1.1% higher than COLAs under the CPI-W, but federal poverty levels will rise as well..The problem is that most retired individuals don't have 0,000 to set aside just for healthcare. According to the Employees Benefit Research Institute, the average person in their 60s who has contributed to a 401 for more than 30 years only has about 5,000 for all retirement expenses. But that's just counting the people who do have retirement accounts - and millions do not. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 60% of all U.S. households have no retirement savings at all..When there is no or a very low COLA, a special provision of law known as "hold harmless" protects beneficiaries when the dollar amount of their COLA is lower than the dollar amount of their Part B increase. The Part B premium is adjusted to prevent a reduction in Social Security benefits from one year to the next. "But when this provision occurs on a program-wide basis - as it did in 2016 and 2017, the entire increase in Medicare Part B for the year is shifted to the people who are not protected by hold harmless, Johnson notes. Instead of the Part B increase being spread over all Medicare beneficiaries, the total cost increase is borne by only 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who are not protected by the hold harmless provisions. They include:.Stay Informed and Sign up for the TSCL Newsletter.The high dose and adjuvanted flu vaccines may result in more of the temporary, mild side effects that can occur with standard-dose seasonal shots. Side effects can include pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, headache, muscle ache and malaise, and typically resolve with 1 to 3 days..Medicare Savings Programs cover the cost of the Medicare Part B premium, saving a person 8.50 per month in 202Depending on income, those with the lowest income may also qualify for additional benefits that cover the Part B deductible and out-of-pocket costs. People with incomes in 2020 of up to ,456 per month or ,960 might be eligible if they have limited savings and resources of ,860 or ,800. These limits are slightly higher for Hawaii and Alaska. This program is administered through state Medicaid programs and states may have guidelines that allow people with slightly higher income to enroll. If interested,contact your local Medicaid office to apply.