Prevent Five Delicious Health TipsThat's why we endorsed legislation from Congressman Ted Deutch that would protect the earned benefits of older Americans, by exempting Social Security and Medicare from any requirements of a balanced budget amendment. The bill H.R. 5466 would go a long way in protecting the retirement security of older Americans against irresponsible measures like the one that was considered this year..This discrepancy between COLAs and real costs is squeezing senior households. Retirees are forced to draw down savings faster than planned, and work far longer than anyone ever imagined. In addition, the percentage of households with credit card debt headed by someone age 75 or older has doubled from 11 percent in 1998 to 22 percent in 2010 according to recent data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The sad fact is that people 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population filing for bankruptcy. Seniors are getting deep into debt because of high medical bills, long-term care costs, and dwindling retirement savings..Reps. Steven Rothman and Michael Michaud signed on to Rep. Charlie Gonzalez's CPI-E Act. The co-sponsor total is now at 33. … Continued
Education Early LearningTSCL is adamantly opposed to using COLA cuts to reduce the federal budget deficit. "With thousands of dollars in Social Security and Medicare benefits at stake, we urge everyone who cares about their Social Security and Medicare benefits to contact their lawmakers in Congress NOW," Benton says..Joe sees a solution for low COLAs and Social Security's long-term solvency issues. Currently the highest paid employees, including CEO of top U.S. companies only pay Social Security taxes on the first 2,900, even when they pull in multi-million dollar salaries. "The future of Social Security would be brighter, if the taxable maximum earnings to which the Social Security payroll tax is applied would include the high earners," Joe says..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. … Continued