Is Your Body Ready For Warm Weather ActivitiesIn 2017 the COLA was just 0.3%, but the Medicare Part B premium rose to 4.00 for people like new enrollees and others who haven't started Social Security yet and pay for their Medicare by check. Once again, the Part B premium of Barbara and the vast majority of Social Security recipients was protected from reductions. Barbara's monthly Medicare premium was adjusted to 108.00, taking every penny of her tiny COLA boost..Republicans as a whole did not object to the renaming provision and they agreed with Democrats that the NDAA was not the place for the social media provision that Trump wants. As a result, both houses of Congress passed the NDAA last week with majorities that are large enough to override Trump's threatened veto..While the legislation made some changes to Social Security and did not cut benefits of any current retirees, it did end a complicated benefit claiming strategy known as "file and suspend" for people very close to retirement. Although the legislation closes an unintended "loophole," the strategy was one of the few means married couples had to maximize their payouts. A similar provision was contained in Obama's 2015 fiscal year budget and was estimated to cut Social Security costs by as much as .5 billion annually. … Continued
Is There Too Much Sugar In Your DietDespite the slowing of the CPI, earlier this year, Medicare actuaries estimated that the base Part B premium paid by most seniors will climb about 8%, from .90 per month to 9.10, starting next January..TSCL is pleased that lawmakers on the Senate Aging Committee are raising awareness of scams against seniors and we agree that more must be done to combat the growing issue. In the months ahead, we will advocate for legislation that would protect older Americans from financial abuse. In the meantime, we encourage our supporters to read the Aging Committee's updated Fraud Book by clicking HERE. As Chairman Collins said on Wednesday, "The more that seniors know about these scams, the less likely they are to fall victim.".A survey conducted by TSCL earlier this year found that 73 percent of people responding strongly oppose a widely debated proposal to cut benefits by switching to a more slowly-growing COLA index. Sixty-five percent, however, strongly favor raising the taxable maximum income cap and requiring high income workers with wages of more than 7,000 to pay taxes on all earnings. … Continued
