News

Yes: 13%.The proposal is at odds with how older Americans think Congress should address Social Security revenues, according to TSCL's 2017 Senior Survey, which is conducted nationally through the mail and online. When asked about options to shore up Social Security financing, 58 percent of participants said they support proposals that would very gradually increase the payroll tax rate by 1 percent each for workers and employers. The largest percentage, 73 percent, support raising the amount of wages subject to Social Security, currently 7,200, to cover all wages..To allow this situation to languish so long is a national disgrace when there's a surprising high level of bipartisan support for Notch Reform through "The Notch Fairness Act." This legislation would allow Notch Babies born from 1917 through 1926 a choice between a lump-sum of ,000 payable over a four-year period, or a higher monthly benefit. As of this writing, more than 94 cosponsors have signed on..An untested federal and state Medicare and Medicaid demonstration program is raising concerns that it affects too many low–income seniors, and is growing too fast. Enrollment has far exceeded early expectations and both provider, and advocacy groups are warning that its size would be hard to unwind if the demonstration fails to provide quality services and access to medically necessary services.."This is a budget cut that makes no sense," says TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton. "Meals on Wheels is a low-cost program that reduces our nation's healthcare bill and more importantly helps seniors stay in their home and remain independent," she says..Medicare has recently made revisions to its payment rules, but those changes do not drop the three day of inpatient care for nursing home coverage, or require hospitals to tell patients when they are getting observation care. Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would count observation stays as part of the three hospital days required for nursing home coverage.."Social Security Sees Slowdown in Retiree Rolls Amid COVID Deaths," Alexandre Tanzi, Bloomberg News, May 3, 202"U.S. Life Expectancy Drops A Year In Pandemic, Most Since WWII," Marilynn Marchione, Associated Press, February 17, 2021..Here's how it works: Because you are under your full retirement age in 2021, you are subject to Social Security's earnings restriction rules. The Social Security Administration will deduct from your benefits for every you earn above the annual exempted amount, which is ,960 in 2021..The Social Security Administration announced today that the 2020 COLA will be just 1.6 percent, continuing the worrisome trend in which COLAs have averaged just 1.4 percent from 2000 to 20"Adequate COLAs are critical to retirement security," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "Social Security is one of the only types of retirement income that provides this essential protection against rising costs. "When a retiree's costs rise faster than their COLA, the buying power of Social Security benefits erodes, leaving people with a benefit that doesn't go as far as it did when they first retired," Johnson notes. According to research by Johnson, Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of buying power since 2000.