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Two Bills Gain Cosponsors.Since 2000, COLAs have increased Social Security benefits a total of 53 percent, yet typical senior expenses grew almost twice as fast - 99.3 percent. Table illustrates ten of the fastest growing costs since 2000. Where no average prices are available, numeric values from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U are used. Table shows the fastest growing costs from January 2019 to January 2020..TSCL Calls Seniors To Action.It's helpful to think of age 70 as the retirement age to get the maximum benefit that you are entitled to. Not only does your benefit grow 8% per year, but the additional years of work could potentially boost the amount of your initial retirement benefit. By continuing to work you also give yourself more time to contribute to retirement accounts and pay off home mortgages, and you reduce the length of time or amount you will need to withdraw from your retirement accounts. That can make a big difference on how well you can live and thrive in retirement..Forty-nine years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law and by doing so made a solemn agreement with every single American. Simply put, if you work hard and play by the rules, Medicare will be there for you when you retire..While the majority of workers pay Social Security on 100% of their earnings, people who earn the most, more than 8,500 a year, pay NOTHING on earnings over that amount..The difference in drug prices between the two programs is due to two reasons. Under Medicare Part D, the government isn't negotiating drug costs on behalf of beneficiaries, and Part D has no cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs. The lack of a cap acts as a perverse incentive for drug makers and drug plans to get beneficiaries to use the most expensive drugs, because Medicare reimburses drug plans 80% of the cost in the final catastrophic phase of coverage. The higher the cost of the drug, the more drug plans receive from Medicare. Medicare patients who rely on such medications could owe thousands of dollars out-of-pocket every year for a single drug, even when their Part D plan covers the drug..However, waiting until your full retirement age qualifies you to receive 100% of the amount your ex-spouse received when he died. The amount you receive is based on your ex-spouse's basic benefit and depends on the age at which you file a claim. If you file for a survivor's benefit prior to your full retirement age, the amount of the survivors benefit you receive would be reduced, but your own retirement benefit would be delayed and continue to grow to its maximum until you reach age 70. You could switch if it is higher than your survivors benefits..By Representative Rodney Davis