Social Security and Medicare remain the targets of plans to reduce federal spending. Over the past 12 months, both Members of Congress and President Obama came close to agreeing on cuts to Social Security benefits, including cost-of-living adjustments and making seniors pay more for their Medicare. How much are Social Security benefits worth over a lifetime and what can you count on? A baby boomer retiring with an "average" benefit of ,100 in 2011 can expect to receive 0,225 over ten years, and 3,641 if he or she lives twenty-five years, due to the compounding effect of the cost-of-living adjustments..Perhaps the greatest difference between the Republican and Democrats in Congress when it comes to legislation to lower prescription drug prices is whether the federal government should impose some kind of price control or regulation..Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage hit a new milestone this year. The highly - loathed "doughnut hole" or "coverage gap" closed this year. But that doesn't mean prescriptions will be free. The co-insurance in the former Part D doughnut hole dropped to 25% of all drug costs. That's the good news. But the out of pocket spending that's required to qualify for catastrophic drug coverage took a big jump, from ,100 in 2019, to ,350 an increase of ,250. That's the biggest jump in the out-of-pocket threshold since the start of Part D in 2006..A second strategy that was changed permitted married couples who reached full retirement age to file a "restricted application" which allowed individuals to collect only a spousal benefit, while their own benefits continued to increase. Unlike file and suspend, this change applies to people younger than age 62 by the end of 2015, so you still can take advantage of some planning to maximize what you get..This week, Members of the Senate voted to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw two key bills gain support..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 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security of 2020, however, suspended the automatic Medicare cuts from taking effect between May 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. "But the legislation extended cuts for an additional year beyond the current expiration date," Johnson notes. "That will mean that Medicare and Medicaid will continue to be subject to automatic cuts until 2030, 10 more years.".Information and referral: Depending on her income your mom may qualify for other assistance programs, like Medicare Extra Help, and you can get contact information for other types of programs..In a letter of endorsement to Rep. Valadao, Ed Cates TSCL's Chairman wrote, "As you know, identity theft is a significant and growing problem, and older Americans are disproportionately affected since they rely heavily on paper mail carried by postal delivery services. Greater protection from identity theft is critical to our members and supporters nation-wide."
