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A new Medicare Advantage plan is available in my area and the premiums are extremely low. It would save me a lot of money this year, so I'm thinking about dropping my Medigap and Part D plan to enroll in the new Medicare Advantage Plan during the fall Open Enrollment period. Can you explain the pros and cons of doing this?.It turns out than among seniors who are not vaccinated, the biggest problem may be access to the vaccine as opposed to opposition to getting the shot.."And even then, half of the US population, at this point, is skeptical of even taking the vaccine," Osterholm said. "So, what we have right now is a major problem in messaging.".TSCL agrees enthusiastically and we believe the SAVE Benefits Act introduced by Sen. Warren and Rep. Grayson would go a long way in ensuring the retirement security seniors have earned. We look forward to working with them in the months ahead to build support for their critical new bill..Letter to Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator, CMS, from Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, July 11, 201Testimony of Robert A. Berenson, M.D., Institute Fellow, the Urban Institute, U.S. Special Committee on Aging, July 18, 2012..Spanberger announced that she will be introducing a bipartisan bill this week to correct the error and make sure that senior Medicare beneficiaries will also be eligible for a free vaccine..Every day, thousands of our neighbors and friends protect our cities, educate our students, and deliver vital services to our communities. While these selfless public servants have spent their lives giving back, our antiquated federal policies take away the benefits that these workers have rightly earned..Most of the money that Social Security pays out to current beneficiaries comes from payroll taxes. According to the Social Security Trustees, the program received 5.1 billion in payroll taxes in 201Social Security also received an estimated .9 billion from the taxation of Social Security benefits, and .9 billion in interest was earned on special issue non-marketable bonds held by the trust fund last year..After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?

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The Bipartisan Policy Center points out in a recent blog, that each of these sources of revenues is negatively impacted by high unemployment. When people are out of work, no payroll taxes are withheld from earnings. A portion of Social Security benefits is taxable when a Social Security recipient has an income higher than ,000 or ,000 for a couple filing jointly. But the coronavirus recession has impacted both earnings from jobs and the value of retirement accounts, so that fewer retirees will meet the income thresholds that make their benefits taxable this year. Finally, the Federal Reserve has responded to the recession by cutting interest rates, which means that the yields on the bonds held by the Social Security Trust Funds are smaller and will provide lower interest income. A recession also causes a higher number of new claims when older workers are forced to retire earlier than planned, raising costs in the short term..This week, lawmakers in the House remained in their home districts to continue the summer recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill next Tuesday, September 4th. In the days ahead, many Members of Congress will be attending local events and hosting town hall meetings in their home districts. The Senior Citizens League encourages its supporters to attend these events and to ask important questions of their elected officials, like the following five..The income thresholds for the federal poverty levels are adjusted using a somewhat faster growing index than the one used to determine the COLA. Unlike the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which does not survey the costs of people over the age of 62, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers CPI-U includes the spending patterns of both younger workers and people over the age of 6Consequently the federal poverty limits increase somewhat faster than the CPI-W and today's COLAs. The 2016 poverty levels reflect a 0.1% increase over 2015 rather than zero like the Social Security COLA. … Continued

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Those members up for re-election would have used the recesses for campaigning, but campaigning has also been totally changed because of the pandemic. It is likely we will see even more campaign ads on TV this fall but who knows? There is no playbook for these circumstances, and everyone is still trying to figure it out..Editor's note: Telephone etiquette has changed! Ask around, and you'll probably discover that many people are letting their voice mail or answering systems screen calls. This is no longer considered rude - but acting in self - defense. Protect yourself from scam. Be defensive:.In the months ahead, TSCL will advocate tirelessly for the Social Security Guarantee Act, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 114th Congress. For updates on its progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow us on Twitter. … Continued