Compare that to retiring early at age 6She'll lose ,437 in Social Security income. Her starting benefit will be permanently reduced by 25% to ,225, and even with receiving benefits over more years she'll receive only 3,228 over the course of her retirement. Her final benefit would be ,438..TSCL is highly concerned about the Totalization Agreement since it would likely add billions in costs to Social Security and drain Social Security benefits from American citizens who retire in the future. The Agreement would also increase exponentially the number of foreign workers claiming Social Security benefits. Social Security law currently allows non-citizens, who at some point obtain work authorization and a valid Social Security number, to claim benefits. Under current policy, Social Security uses all earnings regardless of a workers' legal status at the time the work was performed, to determine entitlement to benefits - including earnings while working illegally in the U.S. Such work could have been done while using an invalid or even fraudulent Social Security number. Several Members of Congress have introduced legislation that would prevent the Totalization Agreement from moving forward and that would give Congress more oversight over Totalization agreements with other nations. In addition, anti-Totalization legislation opposes Social Security benefits going to those who worked in the United States while illegal..Compounding the problem, it's also common for people close to retirement to underestimate medical expenses. Four-out-of-ten participants in the Nationwide survey did not expect to spend any of their Social Security income on healthcare. The Social Security Administration, however, automatically deducts the Medicare Part B premium, which is 4.00 per month in 2018, from Social Security benefits. Medicare Part B premiums have been the fastest rising retiree cost over the past 18 years.."That simply isn't the case," says TSCL Chairman, Larry Hyland. TSCL conducts an annual survey of typical senior costs. "That data indicates that Social Security benefits have lost more than one-third of their buying power since 2000," Hyland says. "Changes that cut COLAs even further would make it that much harder for seniors and disabled beneficiaries to afford rising Medicare, energy, and other costs," he notes..In the weeks ahead, The Senior Citizens League will be closely monitoring discussions in the House and Senate to repeal the ACA since they will impact older Americans in several ways. For instance, Medicare Part D beneficiaries who fall into the coverage gap or "doughnut hole" will face higher costs for their prescription drugs, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that finances Medicare Part A will lose a critical stream of funding. For updates on the repeal of the ACA, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..Under the 'Ryan Budget,' Medicare would be turned into a private voucher program. But these vouchers are unlikely to keep up with healthcare costs, and could require seniors to pay more out-of-pocket for their healthcare. In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2030, seniors would be paying nearly 70% of their health care costs out-of-pocket, with the vouchers picking up only 30% of the bill. It has also been estimated that seniors would end up paying up to ,400 extra for healthcare each year under the Ryan Budget..Ancillary services, such as anesthesiology, radiology, and laboratory services, from an out-of-network provider..So far there's been little discussion on how to fix the disability program. Congress and President Obama have debated reducing cost-of-living adjustments that would reduce the growth in benefits of all Social Security recipients. There has also been debate over raising the eligibility age, and other changes affecting the retirement program..TSCL has long supported adding vision, dental and hearing benefits to Medicare, as well as supporting legislation to lower prescription drug prices. We are waiting to see what the final bills look like that come out of the House and Senate before we determine what kind of endorsement to give.
