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On the heels of Greenspan's recent statement, President Obama's Fiscal Commission is due to release itsplan to solve the growing U.S. deficit by December 1st of this year. The Commission is eyeing major cuts to Social Security - including cost-of-living adjustments cuts that would affect 53 million current beneficiaries..Since 2007 the government has determined Part B premiums based on income. The government uses the most current tax return to determine income. For 2011, your mother's 2009 income was used. Individuals with incomes over ,000 or married couples with incomes of 0,000 are subject to the higher premiums. The healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010 expanded "means testing" to include Part D. Based on income, seniors pay a monthly surcharge of to .10 on top of the premium charged by their plan..However, those projections were made prior to the severe economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Those funds will be affected both by the amount each program spends this year, and by the lower-than-projected revenue because of the depression-level unemployment. Those factors will not be determined until the end of this year. And until a vaccine or an effective treatment is found, the improvement in the economic outlook remains very uncertain..By Representative Cheri Bustos.Get a second opinion for major treatments You will pay another consultation fee, but the vet may have less expensive ways to treat your pet..This issue gets considerable attention from Members of Congress and the media. These findings are a huge red flag that the standard of living of older Americans is eroding, and this is true not only for lower income households, but for all retirees, because healthcare costs are growing much more rapidly than COLAs. To provide greater retirement security, Social Security benefits need to be boosted, and Medicare cost increases need to be slowed in a way that saves billions without cutting benefits. The Senior Citizens League is supporting the Emergency Social Security COLA for 2021 Act, which would replace the 1.3 percent COLA with a more adequate 3 percent COLA in 202How were you affected by healthcare costs in 2020? Please take our TSCL's 2021 Senior Survey..While you should check with a professional financial advisor, you and your husband still have the right to claim spousal benefits only, when you turn 6Under the new law changes, while you couldn't apply for spousal benefits, based on a suspended application, your husband can apply for spousal benefits based on your full retirement age benefit, using a restricted application while his own benefit continues to grow. He would receive half of your benefit, or about 5 per month, until he claims his own retirement benefit. Together the two of you would receive ,215 per month, which is better than the ,150 you alone were hoping to get as a spousal benefit. Then, when he turns 70, he can claim his full benefit of about ,100 per month..Will higher-income workers pay their fair share of taxes to Social Security?.The Democrats on the committee include: Sens. Max Baucus, Ben Cardin, Bob Casey Jr., and Jack Reed ; and Reps. Xavier Becerra, Sander Levin, Allyson Schwartz, Chris Van Hollen and Henry Waxman.