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Major Findings.Transportation or mileage to the doctor for yourself OR to transport others. Medical mileage was 0.19 per mile in 2016..According to studies performed for TSCL, many Notch Babies, particularly those who rely on Social Security for most, if not all of their income, are at risk for living near or below the federal poverty level. For example, Notch Babies who retired in 1984 at age 65 with average benefits of 0 per month would receive about ,839 this year. In the 48 contiguous states and Washington DC, that's only 8% above the federal poverty guidelines..Selling a home to move to lower-cost housing, or as part of a move to assisted living, involves plenty of cleaning, repairs, and maybe some renovations. To get the most money, and to recover your repair and renovation investment, focus on improvements that are either necessary to sell your home, or those that will help get you a higher price. While every home is different, here are six home improvements that tend to get the best return:.Drug Discount Card May be Illegal.Does Social Security Provide Enough Income For Today's Retirees?.Even more surprising is what isn't showing up on the list - medical costs. The cost of medical care services still increased 2.5 times faster than the COLA, rising by 3.2 percent. That's nothing new. In many years medical costs have increased more rapidly than in 2020. Emergency coronavirus legislation last spring restricted what providers could charge for many COVID-19 related services, and large numbers of patients and their doctors postponed non-urgent care..This week, Members of the Senate voted to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw two key bills gain support..Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list or tax advice, but provided to give you an idea of the steps you need to take to learn how to reduce your tax bill. TSCL strongly recommends that you get help preparing your taxes from a tax professional who can explain your options and get you every tax break to which you're entitled to.

Thrive Singing Your Way To Good Health

American consumers have waited too long for Congress to finally make bipartisan progress on lowering prescription drug costs. At a time of rampant hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill, I've seen glimmers of hope for how lawmakers from across the political spectrum can unite on this issue. We can't stop pushing for lower prices, because our nation's seniors deserve that level of respect, commitment, and urgency..Since Social Security estimated that you earned 0,320, when you only earned ,200, clearly there is an error. To contest your earnings, dig out a copy of your 2014 W2s and income tax return, the one you filed April 15th of 2015..Proponents don't call it a cut. They say it's an "improvement" - and "a technical correction." They say that the change is needed because the CPI is inaccurate and doesn't reflect the effect on inflation when consumers substitute goods when prices change. Unlike our current method of measuring cost increases, chaining doesn't measure the actual change in the cost of goods from one month to the next. Instead, it attempts to measure how much people spend when prices go up. … Continued

Coming High Heat Can Threaten Health

While the Social Security hold harmless provision provides important protection from Social Security reductions, more money is required to catch up to Medicare Part B levels in following years. If COLAs continue to remain low, premiums would adjusted again due to low COLAs. COLAs would have to be substantially higher in following years or the whole process would happen all over again..While benefits scheduled in the law for OASI [Old Age and Survivors Insurance] and DI [Disability Insurance] are obligations, such obligations can only be met to the extent that asset reserves are available in the OASI and DI Trust Funds. The law does not provide authority for the trust funds to borrow in order to pay benefits beyond the limited authority for "advance tax transfers.".In January, one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries will see a Part B premium increase of 22 percent the highest increase in 27 years. Do you believe Congress should take action like it did last year to prevent the dramatic increase? … Continued