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All of this adds up to less money for retirement, and greater dependence on Social Security as insurance against retirement savings that are so closely tied to the value of equities and housing. "This situation was caused by COVID-19 and illustrates why Congress needs to strengthen Social Security and Medicare benefits," Johnson says. The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would boost Social Security benefits for all retirees and supports legislation that would lower Medicare costs..New Alzheimer's Drug Sparks Controversy.If Congress could not reach an agreement to borrow money, Social Security and Medicare benefits would be cut when payroll tax revenues run out as they inevitably would..People frequently overestimate the amount of money they will receive from Social Security benefits. Lifespans are growing longer, and ideally you will want your savings to last over the length of your retirement that could be as much as 25 to 30 years long. At the same time life expectancy is rising, so are healthcare costs. If you talk to folks who have already retired, you will learn that almost 6-in-10 retirees will report that healthcare costs take one-fourth to one-third of their Social Security benefits..If adopted, S. 62 would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate fair prescription drug prices under Part D of the Medicare program..Social Security's combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds will be fully funded until 2035 one year later than was projected in last year's report. At that point, if nothing is done by Congress, Social Security would still have the funds to pay out 80 percent of scheduled benefits using tax revenues alone. The Trustees also estimated that Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be fully funded until 2026, at which point the program would still be able to pay out almost 90 percent of scheduled benefits using tax revenues..This week, action on Capitol Hill was slow as Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts to prepare for the upcoming election. Lawmakers are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, November 13th, to begin the lame-duck session..Lower revenues from the taxation of Social Security benefits. About 4% of Social Security's financing comes from the taxation of benefits. Because many retired household incomes were impacted by lower earnings, along with business and retirement account losses in 2020; the amount of revenues from the taxation of Social Security benefits was lower in 2020..The rationale for both the WEP and the GPO - that the Social Security benefit formula is overly generous to these individuals and that they are reaping unintended benefits - is very hard to justify today. In fact, Social Security benefits are quite modest when compared to the national pension systems of other developed nations. The modified benefit formulas used under each of these two provisions substantially reduces the benefit that workers were counting on, but these are benefits that were earned and paid for by Social Security taxes.