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"New Generic Drugs Can Save You Money," Consumer Reports magazine, May 2012..But not all beneficiaries are protected by the hold harmless provision. The provision covers about three-quarters of beneficiaries who would not see any change in their basic Part B premiums in 2010, according to the Actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But one quarter of beneficiaries would face reductions to their monthly Social Security checks as money is deducted to cover the increased Part B premium costs. And although the "hold harmless" provision provides protection from the rising Part B premiums, that provision of law does not apply at all to Part D drug coverage or Part C Medicare Advantage plan premiums. If a person's Part D or Medicare Advantage plan premium goes up, he or she would have less Social Security to live on in 20An emergency COLA, however would offset those costs and prevent those reductions.."It's a barrage of contributions that accounts for roughly million in campaign giving, distributed via roughly 4,500 checks from the political action committees affiliated with the companies..This is important information because if you or someone you know is or has been sick, it is safer to assume you have the coronavirus and not the seasonal flu, and you should seek immediate medical care..There's power in numbers. If you're concerned about your Social Security benefits, share this information with others and encourage them to visit the TSCL website to learn more. To learn how much COLA cuts might cost you, try the TSCL Chained COLA calculator..The statement that "nearly two-thirds of undocumented immigrants affected by the president's executive action don't pay taxes today" doesn't appear to be supported by the government's own data, and is contradicted by statements from Social Security's own Chief Actuary Stephen Goss. Goss was quoted in The New York Times as saying that about "three-quarters of other-than-legal immigrants" already pay payroll taxes. And the Social Security Administration receives on average about 9 million copies of suspicious wage and payroll tax reports a year in which the Social Security number and name don't match those on Social Security records. This situation frequently occurs when undocumented immigrants illegally work under invalid or fraudulent Social Security numbers. But if that's the case, awarding work authorization and Social Security numbers now would make up to 5 million individuals eligible to claim permanent Social Security and Medicare benefits based on earnings under those illegitimate wage reports..According to the Congressional Budget Office, a growing share of the government's spending for Social Security is going to pay for disability benefits.[iii] Between 1990 and 2012, the ratio of disabled recipients to retirees changed dramatically, increasing 112.5%, from 3.2 to 6.7 beneficiaries per 100 covered workers.[iv] In testimony to the House Subcommittee on Social Security, the Congressional Budget Office said that legislation enacted in 1984 expanded the ways in which people could qualify for the DI program, which included allowing symptoms of mental illness and pain to be considered even in the absence of clear - cut medical diagnosis. In addition, disabled beneficiaries also receive coverage under Medicare, regardless of age, after a 24 - month waiting period..According to TSCL's 2017 Senior Survey, 8% of survey respondents said that their benefits have been withheld by Social Security due to excess earnings. Unless you have a terminal illness and are not expected to live very long, we strongly recommend that you consider delaying the start of your Social Security benefit until you are 66 or older when you will be eligible for the full, unreduced amount. To get the maximum, consider working until age 70 if you can. Your benefit will grow by 8% per year if you do..According to the Congressional Research Service, for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater.