News

Action on Capitol Hill remained slow this week, as both Houses of Congress have adjourned for the August recess. However, The Senior Citizens League did see support grow for two key pieces of legislation..Caregiving, however, is a huge commitment in time and financial resources for the caregiver, who often has to take time off from work, and give up his or her own retirement savings to provide care for others. Although Susan's mom receives Railroad Retirement benefits and has a small savings to reimburse Susan for expenses, Andrew, who is too disabled to ever have ever worked, is dependent on Medicaid and receives only a modest monthly Social Security disability benefit of just Susan and her husband cover all the rest of Andrew's expenses - housing, food, uncovered medical expenses, transportation, clothing, and anything else..TSCL is troubled to learn that earlier this week the President tweeted that a short-term payroll tax cut should be considered, fueling a conversation around the potential for a temporary stimulus package..TSCL is hopeful that Congress will provide the Social Security Administration with the funding and staffing necessary to make progress on reducing the DI backlog. As Ranking Member John Larson said at Wednesday's hearing, "[A backlog of] six hundred days is flat-out unacceptable." In the coming weeks, TSCL will provide the Social Security Subcommittee with policy recommendations. We will summarize them here in the Legislative News section of our website after they are submitted to the Subcommittee for review..Possibly. A great deal will depend on how much of your 401 and IRA distributions are taxable. A quick way to check is to take one-half of your total Social Security benefits, add to that all taxable pensions, wages, interest, dividends and other taxable income. Then add any tax-exempt interest income. This is called your "provisional" income..To find the Meals on Wheels program in your area, check the Eldercare Locator or call your local Area Agency on Aging..The Velcro effect of anchoring can influence far more consequential decisions, in ways we may not even realize. Consider the process of determining the "right" retirement age:.For more information about town hall meetings near you during this week's holiday recess, call the local offices of your Members of Congress. For contact information, click HERE..Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of buying power since 2000, according to the 2018 Social Security Loss of Buying Power Study recently released by The Senior Citizens League. This is the biggest loss of buying power recorded since 2012, and that was the biggest loss that The Senior Citizens League's study has recorded to date.