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TSCL supports the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act enthusiastically since it would extend the solvency of the program responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. We look forward to working closely with Senator Hirono and Congressman Deutch in the months ahead to help build support for their important new bill..Once again this week the impeachment of President Trump dominated the news involving Congress and Washington in general. Even so, work continued on a host of other issues, many of which are of great importance to seniors..Lawmakers Debate Spending Bill, Immigration.More than 1,057 respondents participated in The Senior Citizens League's annual senior survey, which was conducted from January through March of this year. Participants confirmed that monthly household expenses made steep increases over the past year, far in excess of the dollar amount that their COLAs increased benefits. More than half, 56%, indicated their monthly expenses went up by more than Yet 50% of survey respondents said that their COLA increased benefits less than per month, after the increased Part B premium for 2018 was deducted from their Social Security benefits..Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2019 to 2028, Congressional Budget Office, December 2018..The Medicare Part A outlook has worsened due to both the financial impacts of COVID-19 and the high levels of people out of work. Nationwide business closures, layoffs and salary cuts, have significantly reduced the amount of revenues received by the Medicare HI trust fund over the past year, while payments to hospitals were increased 20% by emergency legislation for COVID-related care, and the elimination of cost sharing associated with COVID treatments..However, as you may already suspect, that's not necessarily the way our government calculates the change in price. The federal government doesn't simply calculate the difference in cost of navel oranges from one period to another. If another type of orange, such as Valencia is priced lower, at .39 per pound in June when navel oranges are .49, then our government assumes you buy the lower-cost orange, whether or not you actually do so. The price change from .39 in December of 2018 for the navel oranges to .39 in June of 2019 for the Valencias would show no price increase at all for oranges. It would show prices are flat, and that would be reflected then in the overall CPI. One obvious problem is the fact that consumers can't always readily substitute lower-costing items in certain expenditure categories, especially for things like medical services and prescription drugs..According to the Congressional Budget Office, a growing share of the government's spending for Social Security is going to pay for disability benefits.[iii] Between 1990 and 2012, the ratio of disabled recipients to retirees changed dramatically, increasing 112.5%, from 3.2 to 6.7 beneficiaries per 100 covered workers.[iv] In testimony to the House Subcommittee on Social Security, the Congressional Budget Office said that legislation enacted in 1984 expanded the ways in which people could qualify for the DI program, which included allowing symptoms of mental illness and pain to be considered even in the absence of clear - cut medical diagnosis. In addition, disabled beneficiaries also receive coverage under Medicare, regardless of age, after a 24 - month waiting period..Retirement accounts allow your savings to grow tax-deferred, but the rules change when you turn age 70 ½. At 70 ½, traditional IRAs require the owner to take required minimum withdrawals and you can't contribute any more savings. But you can still continue to put money into other types of retirement accounts, including Roth IRAs and some types of 401s, as long as you have earnings from jobs.