Under a restricted application, however, you could take just one or the other of the two benefits at 66, and then allow the other benefit to grow at 8% per year, until age 70. For example, depending on how much your own retirement benefit would be, you might file a restricted application for your own retirement benefit, and then let your larger spouse benefit grow to the maximum, switching to it at age 70. Or, if by allowing your own retirement benefit to grow would yield a higher benefit, you could instead file a restricted application for just the ex- spouse benefit at 66, and then switch to your own higher benefit at age 70. You will need professional help to make this determination. The extra money you receive using this strategy accumulates over a typical retirement, and can mean a significantly higher benefit when you are older and need it the most..Right now, every politician in Washington has his or her eye on November. That is when the voters speak and hold their elected officials accountable..In the first year of the new healthcare law, a large percentage of enrollees through the federal exchange tended to be older adults, many having pre-existing conditions. In addition, there were individuals who enrolled when they received notice that their former health plan was ending, and still other uninsured consumers did so attempting to comply with the new law to have health coverage or pay a fine..Flu Vaccine Reduces Risk of Flu Illness and Serious Outcomes.That estimate appears to be one prepared by the Social Security's Chief Actuary who projected in 2003 that a totalization agreement with Mexico would have a negligible long-range cost to Social Security. The Social Security Administration estimated that costs to the U.S. Social Security system would average about 0 million per year over the first five years. In 2003 the Government Accountability Office evaluated that cost estimate and sharply criticized it, saying that "the cost of such an agreement is highly uncertain." The GAO reported that SSA's estimate failed to account for the large number of Mexicans who are or have worked in this country without legal authorization..In the new report from the CBO, estimates show that if the AHCA is adopted, 14 million individuals would likely lose their health insurance coverage next year. By 2026, that number would rise to 26 million. For low-income seniors between the ages of 50 and 64, the uninsured rate would more than double under the AHCA, from 12 percent to 30 percent. That's because premiums would jump by so much for older Americans by over 700 percent in many cases they would likely be priced out of the individual health insurance market..Over the past year, some of the most difficult emails that TSCL received came from those of you who describe wrenching situations caused in large part by high healthcare costs and emergency needs that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic and the weather-related disasters of 2020. That has sometimes included taking in adult children and your grandchildren, and often providing financial assistance from your own savings..An excessively low COLA triggers an important provision of law that ensures an individual's net Social Security benefit will not decrease from one year to the next because of an increase in the Part B premium. That's valuable protection. But when the provision is triggered there's no law which specifies how the unpaid portion of Medicare Part B premium increases will be financed..Medically necessary home remodeling. This can include ramps, making doors and hallways wider, adjusting electrical outlets, even grading exterior landscape to provide access to the house.