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Medical costs are a big expense in retirement that many retirees tend to underestimate. But healthcare isn't always the biggest item. Housing takes the biggest chunk of the household budget in retirement. Here are five of the biggest housing expenses to whittle down in 2014:.How would the healthcare replacement legislation in Congress affect homecare and long-term care services covered by Medicaid? My 44-year old son was born with cerebral palsy and is homebound. He receives both Medicare and Medicaid. My mom, age 93, also lives with me. My husband and I still work. We are in our 60s..This is exactly the wrong approach. Social Security is about economics, but it is also about our values. It's about who we are as a people, and what kind of country we are determined to build. Every person who represents you in Washington should be talking about protecting and expanding Social Security not cutting it..To read the full statement from Chairman Cates on Thursday's Supreme Court decision, click HERE..The largest amounts of money come from corporate and special interest groups who want certain legislation passed or stopped..Majority Of Retirees Would Raid Savings Or Borrow For Financial Emergencies Says New Poll By The Senior Citizens League."Why Home Health Care is Suddenly Harder To Come By For Medicare Patients," Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, February 3, 2020..We realize there is a severe lack of good news these days and we sometimes fear reporting on the issues of the day can have the effect of discouraging our supporters like you..Your thoughts on this matter can sway votes in Congress. Contact your Members of Congress. Letting each of them know what you think about debt limit deals that would cut "entitlements" like the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or trim benefits in other ways.

Healthcare Workers Find Thanks Hope For Better Days This Thanksgiving

Refinance and renovate. If you find your current mortgage payment is too high, refinancing to get either a lower monthly payment or to take cash out may be an option. Before you refinance, have a long–term repayment plan, a budget, and you may want to discuss your needs with an independent financial advisor. If you are refinancing to renovate an older home, think long and hard about how much longer you plan to stay in your home, and how well your current housing will serve you as your health changes. Get bids from contractors, and be sure to include costs for new appliances, carpets, and fixtures. Will you have sufficient income and savings to cover a mortgage payment and still have money for repairs and maintenance ten or twenty years from now? Can you recover your renovation investment if you have to move and sell sooner than you planned? Take time to shop and carefully compare terms on loans - don't be hurried into making a decision. Loan officers always push you to "lock in a rate." Always ask for a "good faith" estimate and an estimate of the closing costs..I recently read that if retirees got higher cost-of-living-adjustments some low-income people would lose eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps, and other benefits. Would using a senior consumer price index to determine the annual raise really do this?.Alexandria, VA majority of Social Security recipients would have to raid retirement savings or use a line of credit to meet even relatively modest financial emergencies, according to a new poll by The Senior Citizens League. When retirees were asked how they would raise ,000, 49 percent of respondents said they would take money from savings and another 30 percent said they would use a line of credit or borrow. … Continued

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Over the weekend it was announced that the Senate and the White House were able to come to an agreement about new legislation and it will be presented today. However, reports are that the GOP bill will cost about trillion while the House-passed bill has a cost of trillion. That means there will have to be major negotiations between the House and Senate once the Senate finally passes its bill.."It's highly disturbing that such a large number of survey participants have been forced to access food pantries," Johnson says. "This illustrates the dire situation faced by households of those who depend on Social Security for most of their income when food prices jump into overdrive," she says. "Over the past 12 months, the price of bacon is up 11 percent, beef up 10.6 percent and fresh fish up 8.5 percent" Johnson notes.."Protecting the integrity of the Social Security program for current and future retirees is critical to our members and supporters," Hyland said. "As such, TSCL salutes you for introducing an amendment to S. 744 that would prohibit unauthorized workers from receiving Social Security benefits based on work completed illegally, with stolen or fraudulent Social Security numbers… we believe your amendment would improve the program's long-term solvency and prevent an unspecified and unnecessary strain on the Trust Fund." … Continued