Despite known challenges ahead for seniors, the COLA may be the next victim of the fiscal cliff. Leading deficit reduction plans under discussion would significantly whittle the Social Security benefits that the majority of seniors count on for more than half of their income..We should hope for our young adults, and workers from all walks of life, to aspire to serve their communities and become public servants. However, policies like the WEP and GPO only discourage our young people from becoming teachers, firefighters, and public health workers..Some seniors may also experience income tax hikes this year particularly those who rely on investment income. Taxpayers with total incomes greater than 0,000 for individuals or 0,000 for joint filers will face a new 3.8 percent surtax on investment income. The Senior Citizens League fears that this new tax will disproportionately affect seniors at a time when they are struggling to keep up with rising costs. According to the Tax Foundation, reliance on investment income tends to increase with age, and 36 percent of taxpayers with dividend income and 38 percent with capital gains income are seniors..Should I Allow My New Health Law Coverage To "Automatically Renew"?.The suppressed growth in Social Security benefits not only creates ongoing benefit adequacy issues for retirees, but also Medicare budget problems when the COLA is not sufficient to cover rising Part B premiums for large numbers of beneficiaries. When the dollar amount of the annual Medicare Part B premium increase is greater than the dollar amount of an individual's annual cost of living adjustment, the Social Security benefits of about 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are protected by the hold-harmless provision in the Social Security Act. The Medicare Part B premium of those individuals is reduced to prevent their net Social Security benefits from being lower than the year before..The exact number of physicians with concierge practices is unknown, health care experts said. One physician consulting company, Concierge Choice Physicians, estimates that roughly 10,000 doctors practice some form of membership medicine, although it may not strictly apply to Medicare patients. And the move to concierge medicine may be more prevalent in wealthier areas..Look into mail-order pharmacies. When ordering by mail you can often save money because you order in quantity - a 90-day versus a 30-day supply. Many mail order pharmacies charge lower co-pays for a 90-day supply than what you pay for a 60-day. Check with your drug plan to find out if mail order is available..Because it means new legislation to reduce the costs of prescription drugs is not likely to be passed this year and will have to await the start of the next Congress in January of 202In addition, as we've explained in the last couple of updates, the executive announcements the President issued regarding prescription drugs are not clear about what drugs they cover and even if things get clarified it is highly unlikely seniors will see a reduction in drug prices this year. And, of course, the major drug companies are strongly opposed to orders and are fighting to change them..Get started now on a financial habit that can give you big savings for the time you invest in shopping around.
