This week, President Obama sent his fiscal 2016 budget blueprint to Congress, and The Senior Citizens League saw one new cosponsor sign on to the Notch Fairness Act..The median income for those age 65 and older was ,757 in 2010..This occurred all over the U.S. at the very same time that food prices exploded. On December 21, 2020 the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, for example, announced that as of January of this year, 75,079 SNAP households would see an average reduction of in monthly benefits due primarily to the COLA. Another 118 SNAP cases would close, as increased income pushes those households over the eligibility limit..His renewed call for the cut comes only a few weeks after the annual reports regarding the financial stability of the Social Security and Medicare programs were issued by their respective boards of trustees. As we reported at the time, both programs are facing insolvency, albeit at different times..While you can count medical bills for you, your spouse and dependents listed on your tax return, you may also be able to count some medical expenses that you paid for a family member who's not considered a dependent for tax purposes. This is the sort of question you should discuss with a tax professional.."House Democrats in the previous Congress, when they enjoyed a larger majority, passed H.R. 3 almost entirely along party lines. The legislation went nowhere in the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans, and former President Donald Trump opposed the bill. But many Democrats campaigned on the bill last cycle, showcasing it as an example of what the party could achieve if it won full control of Washington.".The proposal to cut the growth of COLAs formed a major Social Security reform provision of President Obama's 2010 Fiscal Commission. It would reduce the growth rate in COLAs by switching to the more slowly-growing "chained" CPI. "The switch is insidious because it's enormously complicated to figure out, and it looks so small on paper - just 0.03 tenths of a percentage point," Hyland observes. "But the loss compounds over time. Within a decade it would have a significant financial punch that just keeps getting bigger," Hyland explains. The following chart provided by TSCL illustrates the impact of a chained CPI on a married couple's Social Security benefits, which start at a total of ,500 per month today, and how their benefits change over the first ten years. After ten years the chained CPI would reduce benefits by per month, and would cut benefits by ,488 over the ten-year period..Nearly 20% of participants in TSCL's Senior Survey say they spent ,100 or more out-of-pocket on prescription drugs in 201And, as we age, all of us face the grim potential that a new health problem could increase our spending on prescription drugs to this level. Doing nothing to lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries is not a good option..As to the details of how healthcare reform will affect you and your husband, stay tuned. Government officials and community organizations are gearing up for consumer information and assistance efforts that will surround this fall's open enrollment period starting in October. A major poll conducted earlier this year indicates that much of the public remains confused about the status of the health law. Check coming issues of The Social Security and Medicare Advisor for how the new healthcare law will affect seniors younger than Medicare age.
