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TSCL's annual senior survey, conducted from January through March of this year, confirmed that monthly household expenses made steep increases over the past year. The majority, 67%, indicated their monthly expenses went up by more than With today's Social Security benefit averaging ,320 per month, this is an unsustainable level of rising spending when there's just a 0.3% benefit increase to match..Mortgage rates and home costs have been at historic lows in 2012, but buying or selling a home is complicated for anyone - and seniors have special issues. Depending on your financial situation and needs, here are some points to consider:.early 60s. If you wait much longer, you may not pass the required physical and.While appliances and used vehicles are generally only purchased occasionally, 2020 was not a good time to be shopping for a new washing machine or used car. Appliances increased by an astonishing 17.2 percent and used vehicles rose by 10.9 percent. Johnson points out that, this time a year ago, the price increases of used vehicle prices were negative, at minus 12 percent. However, manufacturers of appliances as well as new cars and trucks shut down production lines at the start of the pandemic. While plants have slowly re-opened, supply chain disruptions and social distancing requirements have slowed production recovery. That's led to long waiting lists for appliances, and the demand for used vehicles shot up..The White House budget released earlier this year proposes to establish an out-of-pocket limit to the Part D benefit by phasing down beneficiary co-insurance in the catastrophic coverage phase of the benefit from 5 percent to no-cost sharing over four years, beginning in 201While this is better than nothing, the proposals make other changes shifting significant costs to Part D plans which would likely be passed on to consumers in higher premium costs and higher drug costs for the sickest people who hit the pre-catastrophic Part D gap. One analyst has estimated those costs would average ,000. In addition, there is no proposal at all that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices..Last month the Trump administration reported that a future COVID-19 vaccine would be free for nearly all Americans, except for seniors with traditional Medicare coverage..At this point in time, it remains unclear whether congressional leaders will bring the "Budget for a Brighter American Future" to the floor for a vote, but the resolution does clearly outline the policy priorities of the majority party in the House. The Senior Citizens League will keep a close eye on the movement of the budget resolution in the weeks ahead, and we will continue to voice our opposition to policies that would jeopardize the health and financial security of older Americans. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Twitter or visit the Legislative News section of our website..However, it remains uncertain whether lawmakers will be capable of negotiating the details of a long-term spending plan in just two weeks. Should they fail to do so, they will either need to pass a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government operating or allow the federal government to shut down..The study, which was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that a Medicare beneficiary paid 25% of the price of their branded drugs until they reached ,510 in total annual out-of-pocket spending. The patient then fell into the "donut hole" and had to pay for the full cost until they hit ,726, after which they were responsible for a 5% copay.