What do you think of options to fix the pending insolvency of Social Security's disability program? Take a poll. Visit TSCL's website at..Medically necessary home remodeling. This can include ramps, making doors and hallways wider, adjusting electrical outlets, even grading exterior landscape to provide access to the house.."No Limit: Medicare Part D Enrollees Exposed to High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs Without a Hard Cap On Spending," Kaiser Family Foundation, November 201"Summary of Recent and Proposed Changes to Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and Reimbursement," Kaiser Family Foundation, February 2018..While benefits scheduled in the law for OASI [Old Age and Survivors Insurance] and DI [Disability Insurance] are obligations, such obligations can only be met to the extent that asset reserves are available in the OASI and DI Trust Funds. The law does not provide authority for the trust funds to borrow in order to pay benefits beyond the limited authority for "advance tax transfers.".We should also ensure senior citizens are getting an accurate cost of living adjustment. The model the government is using right now would be fine if seniors were regularly buying iPods and laptop computers. But that's just not the case. I've proposed a better way to calculate the COLA based on items seniors actually use, such as food, housing, gasoline, healthcare and prescription drugs..Those in the Senate will resume work next week on the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which will have a significant impact on the health and financial security of older Americans if adopted. If Republican leaders in the Senate successfully negotiate a compromise with the most conservative and moderate members of the party, the BCRA could be signed into law before the end of this month..The Social Security Administration announced today that the 2020 COLA will be just 1.6 percent, continuing the worrisome trend in which COLAs have averaged just 1.4 percent from 2000 to 20"Adequate COLAs are critical to retirement security," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "Social Security is one of the only types of retirement income that provides this essential protection against rising costs. "When a retiree's costs rise faster than their COLA, the buying power of Social Security benefits erodes, leaving people with a benefit that doesn't go as far as it did when they first retired," Johnson notes. According to research by Johnson, Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of buying power since 2000..2017 TSCL Senior Survey, "5th Annual Consumer Survey on Social Security," Nationwide Retirement Institute, April 201"25% of High Earners Have a Huge Misunderstanding About Social Security," Retire With Money newsletter, Elizabeth O'Brien, Time.com, Money, April 25, 2018..This year's Trustees Reports show that both programs face modest financial challenges that can be addressed by Congress with minor reforms. The Senior Citizens League supports the passage of legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act or the Social Security Expansion Act, both of which would strengthen the Social Security program's finances responsibly, without cutting benefits for current or future retirees. In addition, we hope Congress will pass legislation to bring down prescription drug costs in the Medicare program. Requiring Part D drug price negotiation would save billions of dollars for both the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries.
