Also, TSCL plans to be on the Hill next week visiting with the staffs of Republican Senators to find out where they are with regard to health care legislation, and in particular the Grassley-Wyden bill..While about 70% of Medicare beneficiaries will see no Medicare Part B increase in premiums this year, the legislation reduced monthly Part B premiums for the 30% of beneficiaries who faced the jump of 52%. That group, who are not protected by the Social Security "hold harmless" provision, will pay a base premium of 1.80 per month instead of an estimated 9 this year. Higher income beneficiaries who are not protected by hold harmless pay an additional surcharge on the base premium amount. The legislation also reduced an increase in the Part B deductible from a projected 3 to 6..Claim a health law exemption if under 65 and uninsured. If you did not have health coverage in some or all of 2014, you might qualify for an exemption. As of September 30, 2014, the website lists 22 of them here. These include reasons such as the lowest-priced coverage available would have cost more than 8% of your household income, or your individual plan was cancelled and you believe other Marketplace plans are unaffordable. To claim the exemption you can apply now. Be sure to use the right form, found on. You may also wait to claim the exemptions when you fill out your 2014 tax return, due April 15, 2015..The letter and the fact sheet leave out the most important part of the calculation - the additional lifetime income that one could expect to receive over a 20 30 year retirement, if one delays benefits up to age 70. That can add up to tens of thousands of dollars if you are in reasonably good health. In fact, Social Security's publications tend to imply that people get about the same amount of benefits if they start benefits early because they receive the reduced benefit over a longer period of time. That isn't necessarily the case..Any Toll Free call to Congress on the number will be paid for by The Senior Citizens League.."Low COLAs also take a huge toll on overall growth of Social Security income over a retirement," Cates says. "COLAs are like interest, and when COLAs are so low, benefits remain flat. Because benefits are lower now, the amount of increase, if more normal patterns of inflation resume later, will be based on lower benefit amounts, reining in future growth that retirees may have factored into their retirement plans," Cates explains..Apply for pharmacy assistance programs from your drug manufacturer. Medicare maintains a list of pharmacy assistance programs by drug name. Click here to learn if there is a program for your drug..The largest amounts of money come from corporate and special interest groups who want certain legislation passed or stopped..According to most projections the change would cut benefits by about 7% over 25 years for current beneficiaries. But that estimate doesn't include the full cost of the cut for new retirees. Baby Boomers who have not yet turned age 60 would be hit particularly hard because the COLA is used in the Social Security benefit formula to adjust average monthly earnings once a person turns 60. The adjustment is automatically applied even if people haven't yet filed a claim for benefits. The COLA adjustments along with a delayed benefit credit helps to boost initial benefits of people who delay benefits and work longer.
