News

Making matters worse, many who are impacted by the WEP and GPO are unaware of their existence until they file for benefits and retire. Chairman Johnson said on Tuesday, "The Social Security statement that is required by law shows them … the amount of Social Security benefits they would receive if the WEP and GPO didn't exist. These workers, just like every other American, have a right to know what their Social Security benefits will be so they can best prepare for their retirements.".Finally, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act gained one new cosponsor in Representative Jim Langevin, bringing the total up to thirty-two. If signed into law, H.R. 242 would reduce costs for older Americans by requiring the federal government to negotiate lower Part D prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries..Daily exercise: According to a growing volume of scientific research, one of the biggest factors in protecting your brain from the effects of aging is the amount of exercise you get every day. Exercise helps reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation and stimulates chemicals in the brain that affect not only the health of brain cells but the abundance and survival of new brain cells. It also helps you sleep which can reduce memory problems. You don't have to sign up for gym membership. The standard recommendation often is about one half-hour of exercise daily that gets your heart pumping, or about 150 minutes a week. In addition to walking, riding a stationary bicycle or the treadmill, "exercise" can include things like dancing, gardening, raking leaves, mopping floors vigorously and climbing stairs..Known as "auxiliary beneficiaries," they are children, widows, spouses, and parents, entitled to benefits on the record of another individual. The Social Security Act requires that individuals first entitled to benefits as of June 1, 1989 or later, must have applied for a Social Security number to receive benefits. But a recent audit by the Social Security Office of Inspector General found that, as of June 2014, there are 11,179 auxiliary beneficiaries without SSNs receiving benefits because of a loophole - they became entitled to benefits prior to June 1, 1989 and therefore are not required to have an SSN on the Social Security Administration's Master Benefit Record or to have applied for one to receive benefits..TSCL believes that more focus needs to be placed on benefit adequacy as people spend more years in retirement. TSCL supports measures to strengthen Social Security that would increase the taxable maximum, ensuring that high wage earners pay their fair share. In addition, TSCL believes more can be done to protect Medicare from fraud and wasteful duplication of tests and services..That doesn't even include any other Medicare costs, which are illustrated in the following chart, or costs that aren't covered by Medicare including dental and vision services..Under current law there are two sets of rules for payment of Social Security benefits to immigrants who worked illegally, depending solely on the date in which the individual was assigned their Social Security number by SSA..As inflation continues to steeply increase prices, older consumers are reporting that food has been the fastest growing category of their household budgets so far this year, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. The same survey also found that nearly one out of five survey respondents, 19 percent, say they have visited a food pantry or applied for food stamps since the beginning of this year," says Mary Johnson, Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..CMS has also partnered with the Department of Justice to help to increase law enforcement efforts for Medicare fraud and abuse. In 2009, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team was established to provide a law enforcement arm to the government's effort to stem the tide of Medicare fraud and abuse perpetrators. The special task force combines authorities from local, state, and the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services agencies to increase communication and shared investigative techniques.