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Support for the legislation has grown significantly, nearly doubling over the previous six Congressional sessions in which it's been introduced. TSCL is encouraging seniors and their younger family members to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act, " H.R. 1001 and S. 118..In the debate over Social Security's funding, much of the debate has focused on benefit cuts. A recent survey by the National Academy of Social Insurance, however, shows that benefit cuts aren't supported by a large majority of survey participants. Those who participated in the survey agreed on a package of changes to strengthen Social Security that doesn't cut benefits..I started Social Security benefits in 2007 at age 62, but my retirement accounts have lost so much of their value that I'm going back to work. Will my benefits be reduced?.Lawmakers Reach Deal to Avert Fiscal Cliff.Barbara has a number of ways she tries to cope. She qualifies for an age reduction waiver on real estate taxes, and energy assistance to help cover the cost of heating her home. To save on her phone bill, she asked her phone company for a discount and got it. She uses shopping points from Kroger where she buys groceries to save money on gasoline..Coronavirus vaccine by this winter? Maybe, but do not get your hopes up too far..This late into 2018, one way to prevent a penalty is to pay an estimated, or additional payment that brings your estimated tax payments to least 100 percent of your prior year tax liability, or 110 percent of the prior year liability, if you believe you will have higher income in 201If you think you may have underpaid during the year, there's still time to make an estimated payment by January 15th, 2019 to stop penalties from accruing. To prevent the same problem next year, consider adjusting withholding taxes from pension or annuities, as well as withdrawals from retirement accounts..The survey found that a person receiving the national average Social Security benefit in 2000 - 6 per month - would have ,193.10 per month by 201However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require Social 0.30 more per month, or ,603.40 in 2018, just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power..TSCL has been pushing members of Congress to include legislation to reduce the price of drugs and pass legislation to deal with the practice of surprise medical billing. We were hoping those issues would be addressed at the same time as the legislation to extend the federal health programs mentioned above.

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The high dose and adjuvanted flu vaccines may result in more of the temporary, mild side effects that can occur with standard-dose seasonal shots. Side effects can include pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, headache, muscle ache and malaise, and typically resolve with 1 to 3 days..Food: The cost of food has been rising faster in recent years and food prices have easily outpaced overall inflation for many other types of goods. Among other senior spending categories, only prices for oil-based products and medical care have risen faster than food prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that meat prices, particularly beef and veal, are at record highs, and the USDA expects high prices for beef products through 201Poultry prices remain high but are falling. Try new recipes and plan menus. Use lower–cost cuts of meat and poultry and stretch your servings using less expensive sources of protein like beans, tofu, and high protein whole grains. Four chicken leg quarters that sell for under .49 per pound, for example, can yield 12 - one cup servings of home made chicken and whole grain rice soup, especially good made with white soup beans and fresh chopped mustard greens or endive. Freeze the extra and share with homebound friends..You are homebound. This means you are unable to leave home without considerable effort and you require help doing so. … Continued

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The tax cut, which reduced the Social Security payroll tax for employees from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent, makes the Social Security trust funds reliant on general revenues and undermines the self-funding nature of the program. Social Security is funded by payroll taxes, and currently faces a billion cash-flow deficit. Extending the tax cut could exacerbate the program's funding issues..Use distributions from Roth accounts to minimize taxation of Social Security benefits. Unlike distributions from traditional IRAs and 401s, qualified distributions from Roth IRAs - those taken when you are over 59½ and the contributions were made more than five years ago - will not subject your Social Security benefits to taxation. To minimize taxation of your Social Security benefits, consider taking distribution from your Roth IRA, and let your Traditional IRA or 401 grow until you reach age 70 and a half. Once you reach that age, distributions of Traditional IRAs and 401s must start by April 1 of the year following..At age 62, Susan Gross of Barboursville, Virginia, is nearing retirement age, but has no plans to stop working yet. High prescription costs and the need to provide care for a disabled adult son and her 90 - year old mother are other major reasons. With her rheumatoid arthritis medication, Humira, costing ,900 a month, both Susan and her husband continue to work full time. Susan is dependent on the health insurance coverage available through her husband's employer to help her afford her medications. … Continued