|
SOCIAL SECURITY NEWS
The most news and information
on Social Security for senior citizens
Click to Bookmark This Site!
E-mail
this page to a friend!
Social Security Q&A
Should You Take Social Security Retirement Early?
Here's Answer From IRS Specialist
Q&A also looks at what happens if you take early
retirement and then earn more income than is allowed
 May 20, 2013 – One of the questions most asked by
those nearing Social Security retirement age is about the decision to
retire early or wait until reaching full retirement age. It all depends,
according to the Q&A by Oscar Garcia of SSA. He also answers a couple of
key questions by seniors who took early retirement or disability
retirement.
Read more...
Social Security News
Senior Citizens Warned of Fake Emails Urging
Enrollment in ‘my Social Security’
Popular new personal
online accounts available at Social
Security now attracting crooks to try ‘phishing’
 May 14, 2013 – As a sure sign of the popularity of
the new “my Social Security” account, the criminals are using "phishing"
E-mails encouraging senior citizens to create an account. Rest assured,
any email promoting this are not coming from the agency, according to
information from the Social Security Administration.
Read more...
Social Security News
Social Security Enters New World of Smartphones and
Social Media for Senior Audience
Q&A column also suggests your lowered benefit from
early retirement may get a future boost
 May
13, 2013 – There is a new incentive to move senior citizens into the age
of smartphones: Social Security has a new version of its website
designed for mobile devices and is in the social swirl, according to
Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist with SSA in this week’s Q&A.
And, there is more good news: when you take early retirement in Social
Security your benefit may still get a boost in future years.
Read more...
Social Security News
How Does Social Security Determine Your Benefits?
Q&A Answers This and More
SSA information specialists tells how to estimate
your retirement benefit; explains factors affecting a widow’s benefits;
how to apply for disability
April 25, 2013 – Ever wondered how Social Security
determines your retirement benefit? Or, wanted to get an idea before you
retire of what your benefit will be? These are some basic questions of
the program that are answered by Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist
with SSA in this week’s Q&A. For those younger Americans seeking
disability under Social Security, he also has answers at the end of this
article.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
First Public Hearing Underway on Chained CPI
Proposed to Slow Future COLA for Senior Citizens
Republican chair of House Ways and Means subcommittee
on Social Security issued news release blasting Treasury secretary; in
opening says reducing COLA only would be called ‘benefit cut’ in
Washington
 April 18, 2013 – The first congressional hearing on
the budget cuts to Social Security proposed by President Obama is
underway. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tx), chair of the Social Security panel of
the House Ways and Means Committee, released his opening statement and
the prepared testimony of witnesses. The Texas Republican also released
a news release this morning accusing Treasury Secretary Jack Lew of
making “conflicting statements” about the Chained CPI before the full
committee.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Ways and Means Draws Bead on Medicare Cuts, Chained
CPI to Limit COLA for Social Security
HHS Secretary Sebelius in witness chair today on
total budget for HHS, CMS with Social Security proposal the target this
Thursday
 April 12, 2013 – The Republican lead House Ways and
Means Committee has grabbed the lead in questioning President Obama’s
2014 budget proposals for the Department of Health and Human Services,
which includes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will testify there today and next Thursday
the hearing topic will be on entitlement reform proposals, with emphasis
on the controversial Chained Consumer Price Index, which will be used to
lower cost-of-living adjustments for seniors and others in future years.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Obama Says Budget Proposal Offers ‘Manageable’
Curbs on Medicare Cost, Social Security Benefits
 Most
media reports say focus of White House is to strike a ‘Grand Bargain’
with Republicans who want to change Medicare into a voucher-style
system; Medicare proposal has one revenue item - higher premiums
for couples making more than $170,000 a year
April 11, 2013 - The White House says its budget is
a good start toward controlling government entitlement programs by
offering proposals to curb the growth of Social Security, Medicare and
other federal benefit programs. The budget blueprint, released
Wednesday, includes what the president called "manageable" curbs on
Medicare spending growth, but GOP congressional leaders were dismissive,
while some Democrats and virtually all senior citizen advocacy groups
were unsettled.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
How
Chained Consumer Price Index Proposed by Obama Works to Curb Social
Security Benefits
Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a Q&A about
inflation calculation that will slow cost-of-living adjustments for
senior citizens
April 11, 2013 – The term “COLA” is a part of the
Social Security program that has been highly cherished by senior
citizens. It stands for “cost-of-living adjustment,” and was the
government’s way of being trying to keep retired older Americans from
seeing their Social Security benefits eaten away by inflation. Now, the
Obama administration has come up with a new way to calculate inflation
that will reduce COLA in the future. It is called the chained consumer
price index and below is a Q&A on this method provided by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Reporters Dig Into Obama Budget and Find Other
Proposals that May Impact Seniors
More spending on Medicaid, mental health; replacing
current formula for Medicare pay to doctors
April 11, 2013 – Senior citizens have – rightly so
– primarily focused on the cuts to Social Security and Medicare in the
2014 budget proposal from the White House that was presented yesterday.
Media sources have found other parts of the budget that may also impact
many seniors - funding boosts for mental health and food and drug
safety, as well as the elimination of the SGR formula to set Medicare
physician payment rates. It also delays funding cuts to hospitals that
treat the uninsured.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Congress Could Lose Older Voters by Cutting
Social Security, Medicare, Vets Benefits: AARP Poll
Senior advocates seem solid in opposition to cuts
expected to appear Wednesday in President Obama’s budget; Congressional
call-in on Wednesday
April 8, 2013 – Groups that advocate for senior
citizens and senior issues appear to be solid in their opposition to
budget moves advocated by Republicans and now supported by the White
House that will cut income from Social Security and reduce spending by
Medicare. A survey released today by AARP says 84% of American voters
age 50 and older oppose the chained CPI proposal for reducing Social
Security benefits for years ahead.
Read
more...
Social Security Q&A
Think of Social Security as Life Insurance Policy
You Didn't Know You Had
Social Security specialists points out many survivors
could be eligible for benefits; also promotes Retirement Estimator
 April
5, 2013 – A surprising number of people may be eligible to receive
Social Security survivors benefits, according to Oscar Garcia, Public
Affair Specialist with the Social Security Administration. He says, in
answer to a question, “Think of your Social Security taxes as a life
insurance policy you never knew you had.” He also has some assurances
about the agency's Retirement Estimator.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Social Security Warns Senior Citizens to Be Sure
They Are on the Official Social Security Website
Countless consumers victimized each year by
misleading advertisers who use "Social Security" or "Medicare" to entice
the public to use their services
March 25, 2013 - Thinking you are doing business
with Social Security can be a costly mistake when you have been mislead
to a website posing as the official government site, says Oscar Garcia,
Public Affair Specialist with the Social Security Administration. He
also advises prompt notification of a beneficiaries death to another
question in this Social Security Q&A.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Women May Receive Their
Earned Social Security Benefit and Another as a Wife
Women need to familiarize themselves with what the
program means to them in their particular circumstances
March
11, 2013 - Understanding Social Security benefits may mean the difference
between living more comfortably versus just getting by in retirement,
especially for married women. Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist with
the Social Security Administration addresses a question about a woman
receiving her own work retirement and benefits as a wife.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Seniors Should Have Received Social Security
Statement for 2012; Four Tax Tips from SSA
If you did not get yours you can request it online;
Retirement Estimator is just that – an estimator
Feb. 19, 2013 – The Social Security Administrations
says seniors should have received their benefit statements for 2012 and
Public Affairs Specialist Oscar Garcia adds four tax tips for seniors
and answers a key question about the agency’s Retirement Estimator.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Social Security Head: Program Fraying from
Neglect
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press
Feb. 14, 2013 - Outgoing
Social
Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue has some
parting shots for
Congress, the White
House and advocates for seniors. They have all "really walked away
from Social
Security," he says, leaving the program "fraying
because of inattention to its problems." Instead of making the hard choices to fix
Social Security's financial problems, policymakers "use it as a tool
of political rhetoric," Astrue said in an interview with the AP.
Read at Yahoo/AP
Social Security News
Social Security Announces New Online Services Available with a
"my Social Security" Account
Critical and practical information available to
senior citizens with new Social Security personal account - you need
a new password if you used the old account
Jan. 31, 2013 – Social Security wants you to
open your personal online account to keep up with the information
about you that is maintained by the agency. They suggest people sign
up for the free "my Social Security" account when they begin working and continue to
use it throughout the time they receive benefits.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senior Citizens Hear Encouraging Words
on Entitlements in President's Second Inaugural
 'The commitments we make to each other through
Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our
initiative, they strengthen us' - see video
Jan. 22, 2013 –
President Barack Obama generally drew praise from senior
citizen advocates for the words in his inaugural address
yesterday that signaled his commitment to preserve the
“entitlement programs” of Medicare, Medicaid and Social
Security.
Read
more, see video...
Social Security News
Senior Citizens May Still Receive Social Security Checks in Mail
After March 1 Treasury Deadline
Group backed by Envelope
Manufacturers Association may have issue headed to a hearing in the
House of Representatives
 Jan.
21, 2013 – Senior citizens receiving their Social Security benefits by
paper check may continue to do so after the March 1 deadline for
converting to direct deposit or prepaid credit card, according to a
report in the Houston Chronicle and Print Week magazine. “It turns up
the checks still will be showing up in the mail after all,” writes
Chronicle reporter L. M. Sixel.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Time Running Out for Seniors to Meet March 1 Social Security Electronic Payment
Deadline
Treasury Department urges remaining paper
check recipients to make the switch now to direct deposit or a prepaid
card - see video
Jan. 8, 2013 – Senior citizens still
receiving their Social Security benefits by paper check must take action
soon - March 1 is the final deadline by which all remaining federal
benefit check recipients must receive their money electronically. That
is the date the electronic payment law goes into effect.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Aging
Coalition Urges Policymakers: Don't Reduce the Deficit on the Backs of
Seniors in Need
Groups representing 60 million older Americans oppose
cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Cost-of-Living
Adjustments
 Dec. 17, 2012 - The Leadership Council of Aging
Organizations (LCAO) - who together represent over 60 million older
Americans - expressed grave concerns about proposed cuts to
Medicare, Medicaid, the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment
(COLA), and discretionary programs like the Older Americans Act as part
of the emerging budget agreement.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Suspend Social Security to Gain Extra Credits?
Survivors Get Benefits at 60, Can Switch at 62
Retirees may find value in different retirement
strategies: some are discussed here in Q&A by SSA specialist
 Dec. 11, 2012 – Those nearing eligibility for
Social Security need to apply early to be sure the benefits begin when
needed, says Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist, SSA, who also
offers some ideas on retirement strategies, like suspending retirement
benefits and receiving delayed retirement credits.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
GOP 'Fiscal Cliff' Plan with Big
Reductions in Social Security and Medicare Rejected by White House
$200 billion in savings to come from
GOP trick to change way inflation is calculated, thus reducing COLA for
Social Security and slow Medicare benefit increases
 Dec. 4, 2012 - The House
Republican’s made a counteroffer to President Obama’s earlier budget
proposal and it that for big cuts in the critical programs for America’s
senior citizens – Social Security and Medicare – while still refusing to
allow taxes to rise back to previous levels for the wealthiest
taxpayers. The While House rejected the plan because it rejects the tax
increase and does not meet his "test of balance."
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
AARP Says 7 in 10 Older Americans
Oppose Medicare, Social Security Changes Now
‘Congress should not make last-minute
deals that would jeopardize the promise made to current and future
generations that they receive the Social Security and Medicare benefits
they have contributed…’
 Nov.15, 2012 - In an AARP survey
fielded immediately following the 2012 election, 70 percent of Americans
age 50 or older say that they believe a separate public debate about the
future of Medicare and Social Security is needed and changes should not
be part of any end-of-year deal addressing the nation’s budget deficit,
often referred to as the “fiscal cliff.” Almost all (92%) older
Americans also said that it is very important that Washington listen to
ordinary citizens when it comes to decisions about Medicare and Social
Security. Read
more...
Social Security News
Social Security Offices to Close Earlier
Due to Budget Squeeze by Congress
Field offices will
close daily at 3 p.m. starting November
19; January 2 will begin closing at noon
on Wednesdays
 Nov.
13,2012 -Social Security field offices
across the U.S. will begin closing 30
minutes earlier on November 19.
Employees, however, will still be at
work. The agency says the early closing
to the public will allow agency staff to
process claims work without incurring
the cost of overtime, which has been
severely limited by reduced funding by
Congress.
Read More...
Lack of Social Security Awareness Could Be Costing
Retirees Thousands of Dollars
Half collecting or planning to collect benefit before
full retirement age; more than half not knowledgeable about maximizing
benefits; 83% concerned about program
Oct. 31, 2012 – Many older retired Americans do not
understand key issues surrounding Social Security, says the BMO
Retirement Institute. Consequently, they are losing out on a significant
amount of money that could be used to fund their retirement.
Read
more...
Social Security Says 1.7 Percent COLA for 2013,
Modest Bump More Than Expected
Average retired senior will get $21 per month more;
retired couple $34
Oct.
16, 2012 - Senior citizens will get a slightly larger cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) for 2013 than most people were estimating. The Social
Security Administration announced today the increase in the monthly
benefit for almost 62 million older Americans will be 1.7 percent.
Read
more...
Social Security Q&A
How Early to Apply for Social Security? How Does
Divorced Wife Apply? SSA Q&A
Signing up can be done quickly from home but time needed for payments to begin; can divorced wife get benefits from ex’s SS
and her own later?
 Aug. 27, 2012 –
Signing up for Social Security today is a snap compared to just a few years ago, when you had to go a Social Security office. It can be done
from home today, but Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist with Social Security says seniors still need to apply early to be sure the
benefits begin when they need them. Here are his answers to questions about applying and about applying as an ex-wife.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Couple of Things Seniors May Not Know About Social
Security, Medicare
There are things women in particular should know about Social Security
 Aug.
3, 2012 – There are a lot of things most of us don’t know about our senior entitlements – Social Security and Medicare. Oscar Garcia, Public
Affairs Specialist with SSA, answers a couple of them here – are benefits calculated differently for men and women, and does Medicare cover us
outside the U.S. Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senate Aging Chair Wants Social Security to Better Inform Seniors About Benefits
|
More information:
•
Link to GAO report "Retirement Security: Women Still Face Challenges."
•
testimony by hearing witnesses
•
video of Senate hearing
• GAO on purpose of report on women and retirement
•
Summary of GAO report |
At hearing on Retirement Challenges for Women, Sen. Kohl also pushes for higher minimum benefit
July 26, 2012 – At a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging yesterday - “Enhancing Women’s Retirement Security”
- Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., called on the Social Security Administration to do more to help older Americans understand their benefits.
Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Spousal and Survivor Benefits in Social Security Create Challenging Decisions
SSA PR specialist has advice on options for spouses and surviving beneficiaries
|
Spousal
& Survivor
• What options do I have when it comes to receiving my own or my
husband’s Social Security?
• Do I have to wait until 62 to receive survivors benefits? |
July 25, 2012 - Some of the most challenging questions about Social Security benefits involve the rights of those
eligible for spousal or survivor benefits. Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration provides answers to a
couple of the most common of these questions. Read more...
Social Security News
Online Access to Social Security Statement
Draws a Million Users
Provides estimates for benefits. It also provides workers as young as 18 a “convenient”
way to determine if their earnings are accurately posted
 June 29, 2012 – It has been less than two months since the Social Security Administration
kicked off the My Social Security program and already a million people have gone online to create and account and view their Social Security
statement. Read more...
Social Security Q&A
When Should You Retire Under Social Security? Here is the Agency's View
Popular questions from those who face Social Security retirement decisions are answered by Social Security specialist
|
When
Should I Retire?
• How will part-time work affect my Social Security?
• What if I work after drawing benefits? |
May 30, 2012 – Almost everyone nearing the age when they can begin drawing from Social Security under the early
retirement provision faces the question – “Should I take early retirement or wait until I reach the full retirement age?” Here a Social
Security specialist provides the facts, answers related questions and points the way to more help by Social Security.
Read more...
Social Security News
Coalition Says Saving Social Security Critical to
Elderly Women, Families
‘Congress should examine the inequities that have created a poverty rate for senior women and widows that is 50% higher than
other retirees’
 May
14, 2012 – Three advocacy groups joined forces to make a presentation to congressional staff today on their research examining the challenges
facing elderly women and their families and the importance of Social Security. Their report, Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling, proposes
initiatives to ensure Social Security benefits are adequate for all Americans, particularly for women and women of color.
Read more...
Retirement News
Couples Retiring in 2012 Need $240,000
for Medical Bills, $20,000 More if Obamacare Overturned: Fidelity
Senior citizens relying on Social Security to pay medical bills will have only 39% of payment left for other expenses
 May
10, 2012 - A 65-year-old senior couple retiring this year is estimated to need $240,000 to cover medical expenses
throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. And, if the health care
reform bill – “Obamacare” – is overturned by the Supreme Court, seniors can add another $20,000 to their costs, according to a report by Bloomberg.com. Read more...
Social Security Q&A
Social Security Rep Answers Questions About Help
Paying for Medicare Drugs
Also offers information on other questions about Social Security and Medicare - people who never worked, when do payments
start,
May
3, 2012 – There may be as much as $4,000 in financial help available to people on Medicare who need help paying for their prescription drugs,
according to Oscar Garcia, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration. He also answers questions about Social Security for
those who have never worked and when a senior’s benefit begins payments. Read
more...
Social Security News
Personal Social Security
Statements Now Available Online for Your Planning
Simple, easy to use tool for
planning your retirement with better knowledge of your Social Security account
 May 1, 2012 – Your Social Security
account – or statement – is now available online to help in planning your retirement. The program is “simple” and “easy-to-use,” said
Commissioner Michael J. Astrue in making the announcement today.
Read more...
Social Security News
AARP Says Social Security, Medicare Trustee Reports Show 'Long-Term' Challenges
2012 Reports underscore the need for a national conversation on strengthening retirement security for Americans; action
soon by Washington
 April 23, 2012 – AARP’s statement on the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports for 2012 emphasized that there is
time for action on the looming financial crisis for senior citizens and called for a “national conversation on strengthening retirement
security,” which is a campaign it recently launched. The statement emphasized Social Security funding appears secure until 2033.
Read more...
Social Security Trust Funds’ Survival Projected to be Three Years Shorter Than Last Year
Social Security Trustees annual report to the Congress contains troubling, but not unexpected, projections about Social
Security’s finances
April 23, 2012 – The combined assets of the Social Security Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2033 – three years sooner
than projected last year by the Social Security Board of Trustees.. At that time, there will be sufficient non-interest income coming in to
pay about 75 percent of scheduled benefits they project in their annual report to Congress.
Read more...
Big Questions About Social Security: Age to Draw Benefit, Survivor Benefit Amount
 The decision for senior citizens about early retirement is a common one; few know how survivor benefits are determined
- video on how to enroll online
April 19, 2012 – Social Security is of critical importance to most older Americans, but few really think about it until
the time comes to make a decision about when to apply for the retirement payments, which can be as early as three months before turning age
62. What a surviving spouse will receive is another question most never consider until they lose their loved one. Below are answers from a SSA
spokesperson and help on getting more information. Read more..See video
Senior Citizen Politics
AARP Program to Draw Seniors into Conversation on Medicare, Social Security
'You’ve Earned a Say’ gives platform for older Americans who have paid into these programs to have a say in their future -
see video
 March 19, 2012 - AARP leaders at events across the country today announced the launch of You’ve Earned a Say, which the
organizations describes as a national conversation about strengthening health and retirement security. AARP says this program is taking the
debate about Medicare and Social Security out from behind closed doors in Washington and making sure that all Americans have a voice in the
discussion about their future. Read more, see video
Social Security News
Patty Duke Registers Online for Social Security, Medicare in PJs
Patty Duke Show star has volunteered for years to help promote Social Security’s online services to fellow baby boomers -
see video
|
 Patty Duke, husband in pajamas join Social Security & Medicare. |
Jan. 23, 2012 - After years of telling people they can apply online for Social Security in their pajamas, Patty Duke has
taken her own advice. Duke turned 65 last month and applied online for retirement and Medicare benefits from home.
Read more, watch video...
|
‘Means testing’ to bolster Social Security? It’s already
happening.
By Allan Sloan (Washington Post, 3-1-2012)
It’s almost time for one of Washington’s
rites of spring: the arrival of the new Social Security trustees’ report. The report, which is usually issued in April, will show
Social Security’s finances deteriorating because of a higher-than-projected inflation adjustment for 2012. This is likely to touch off
a debate over whether to help fix Social Security’s financial problems by denying retirement benefits to “the rich.” On the surface,
this approach, known as “means testing,” sounds great. Eliminating payments to retirees with incomes above a certain level would make
more available to folks in need. Those greedy rich need to pay their fair share, right?
But here’s a dirty
little secret: Social Security is already seriously means-tested. And my situation shows it.
>>
Click to full column, reader comments |
Social Security Suspends Online Services for a Day of Maintenance
System maintenance begins Saturday night, ends Monday morning
 Dec. 15, 2011 – Online services provided by the Social Security Administration, including such
services as applying for benefits online, will not be available from 11 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Monday. The temporary shutdown is due to
regular system maintenance. Read more...
Sen. Casey to Close Social Security Loopholes Allowing Philly Basement Case
Basement case suspects held 4 mentally disabled captives while taking their SSA benefits
 Dec.
2, 2011 - A bill introduced in the Senate this week will close loopholes in the Social Security system that allowed suspects in the
Philadelphia basement case to bilk their captives of their Social Security benefits and avoid police for years. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) says
his bill... Read more...
Social Security Launches New Spanish Online Services
Matching English Version
TV superstar Don Francisco helps announce retirement and medicare extra help applications
at www.segurosocial.gov
 Nov.
18, 2011 – Social Security’s most popular online services – the applications for retirement and Medicare and for Extra Help with
Medicare prescription drug costs - are now available in Spanish. The new online services are available at
www.segurosocial.gov, which is the Spanish version of Social Security’s award winning website,
www.socialsecurity.gov. Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Speaker Boehner Moves the Target for Super Budget Cutters to Social Security
Republicans say 'no' to tax hikes but will consider Medicare price increases
 Nov. 1, 2011 – Many senior citizens bolstered by advertising and lobbying efforts by AARP and other advocacy groups to
protect Social Security and Medicare, may have been lulled into a sleep by the secretive discussions of the super panel considering how to
balance the U.S. budget. The gloves came off yesterday, however, as House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared to move the bulls eye
squarely on to Social Security and other senior entitlement programs. Read more...
Medicare Announces Premiums for 2012, Part B Increase Just $3.50 Monthly for Most
 Most senior citizens will see an increase in Social Security of about $43 in 2012, producing a gain after Part B cost of
39.50 per month
Oct. 27, 2011 – The wait is over. Medicare announced the premiums and deductibles senior citizens will be paying in 2011,
which included the increase for the most expensive premium seniors pay, Part B, which many feared would wipe out the cost-of-living increase
in Social Security. The news is good, at least for most seniors, the increase in Part B will be just $3.50, which barely touches the $43 COLA
increase for the average senior. Read more...
Social Security News
Part B: Expensive Part of Medicare May Squash COLA for Seniors
Announcement due this week - what will it mean to you?
Oct. 24, 2011 - Millions of senior wait for the other shoe to drop…the one they may squash their 2012 increase from
Social Security. This year, for the first time in two years, senior citizens and others depending on Social Security will receive a
cost-of-living increase for 2012. The other shoe, however, is the cost of Medicare Part B for 2012, which could wipe out the COLA gain.
Read more...
Social Security COLA Increase of 3.6 Percent for Senior Citizens in 2012
Cost-of-Living Adjustment is First Since 2009; see details, questions answered by Social Security
Oct.
19, 2011 - After two years without a cost-of-living increase, Social Security will give senior citizens and others on Social Security a 3.6
percent increase in 2012. The SS monthly payment for the average retired worker will go from $1,186 in 2011 to $1,229 in 2012 – an increase of
$43, according to the announcement Wednesday. Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Group Fighting to Save Senior Citizen
Benefits in Social Security, Medicare Finds An Angel - Maybe
GOP appointee to Super Committee, Rep. Fred Upton, says senior benefits should not be cut for those in program
 Aug.
20, 2011 – The group that organized earlier this year to protect the Social Security and Medicare benefits of senior citizens –the Strengthen
Social Security Campaign – thinks they have found a possible critical ally in a Republican appointee to the new super committee charged with
making a big dent in the deficit. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) says that current Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries should not face any
reductions in benefits, according to the SSSC. Read more...
|
Editorial: Social Security far from
a 'Ponzi scheme'
9/12/11
- As government programs go, Social Security is enormously popular, one supported by all presidents of both parties since its founding in
1935. It is the main reason that the percentage of seniors in poverty has dropped to roughly 10% from what many experts believe was more
than 50% during the Great Depression. About 90% of voters of both parties say it has been very good or good for the country.
USA Today Editorial
 |
 Social
Security's problems are solvable
 By
Eric Wieffering, Minneapolis Star Tribune
9/20/11…Social Security's problems may pale
next to those of Medicare, but that doesn't make them less real or consequential. Worse, ignoring them or pretending they will go away
means passing on the opportunity to enact simple, long-term fixes that could strengthen Social Security for generations to come…
Fortunately, there are a lot of good ideas out there
that could help Congress avoid the fewer, harder choices that await if we dither. Some of them include… and then Wieffering lays out
several simple solutions the Social Security financial problem… Editor’s Note:
Read this, and share it with your friends.
Senior Citizen Politics
Senate Aging Committee Chair Calls for More Screening, Oversight of Guardians
Sen. Kohl releases GAO report showing need for strong screening of those making financial decisions for incapacitated
seniors, others
 Aug. 11, 2011 – There is a greater need for screening and oversight of guardians appointed to make financial decisions
for senior citizens and other adults that are incapacitated – primarily on Social Security - says Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), Chairman of the
Senate Special Committee on Aging. Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Social Security News
Congressional Budget Cut Forces Social Security Offices to Begin Closing Early
All field offices will close 30 minutes earlier each day
July 22, 2011
– A one billion dollar cut by Congress in the Obama budget proposed for Social Security will cause the agency to begin closing field offices
nationwide to the public 30 minutes early each day. The new hours will begin on August 15, according to an announcement today by the
commissioner. Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senior League Flatly Opposes Social Security Cuts for Those 50+, But Cites Alternatives
 Proposals include raising payroll tax cap, raising retirement age, adding public workers
July 18, 2011 – The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) makes clear its opposition to benefit cuts in Social Security that
would impact any Americans age 50 or older, but says there are alternatives to reduce the budget in less painful ways.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
AARP Fights Back Against Charges of Giving In on
Cuts to Social Security; Launches TV Ad
|
AARP TV ad fighting cuts to
senior programs. See video |
CEO reaffirms opposition to cutting Social
Security, asks seniors to pledge help in fight; AARP kicks off TV ad
urging protection for SS and Medicare
June 20, 2011 – The Wall Street Journal stirred up
a storm last week when it quoted in a news story AARP’s policy director
John Rother saying the senior advocacy group was dropping its objection
to cutting Social Security benefits. AARP CEO A. Barry Rand fired back
that the report was inaccurate and that AARP has not changed its
position on Social Security.
Read more, see
video
Social Security News
Social Security Trustees Project Trust Fund
Exhaustion One Year Sooner
Senior citizen advocacy groups not alarmed by 2036
deadline, see time for fix
May 15, 2011 - The Social Security Board of
Trustees late Friday (May 13, 2011) released its annual report on the
financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds and said they will
be exhausted in 2036, one year earlier than projected last year.
one year sooner than projected last year. Most senior advocacy groups
were not alarmed (see comments below news report).
Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Treasury Retiring Paper Check for Social Security,
Other Benefits; Saves $1 Billion
|
 U.S.
Treasurer Rosie Rios holds $1 billion check as symbol of savings
from going to electronic pay methods |
Seniors, others currently receiving federal benefits
by paper check must switch to direct deposit by March 1, 2013.
April 27, 2011 – Starting on May 1, the U.S.
Treasury will switch to an electronic payment method for Baby Boomers
and others signing on for Social Security, veterans’ affairs payments or
other benefits. Senior citizens and others currently receiving their
federal benefits by paper check must switch to direct deposit by March
1, 2013. The move is projected to save taxpayers $1 billion over ten
years.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Obama Budget Plan Cuts Deficit by $4 Trillion,
Strengthens Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security
Around two-thirds of budget is
spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and national security -
watch video
 April 13, 2011 - President Barack Obama on
Wednesday shared his plans to cut the deficit by $4 trillion in 12
years, which, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House,
includes saving $480 billion in health care costs by 2023. Obama
proposes holding Medicare cost growth down by strengthening the
Independent Payment Advisory Board and making Medicaid more flexible
without using block grants. And, about the other program vital to senior
citizens, Social Security, his fact sheet said, “No current
beneficiary should see the basic benefit reduced; nor will we
accept an approach that slashes benefits for future
generations.”
Read
more....
Senior Citizen Politics
President to Outline Strategy to
Make Entitlements More Secure for Senior Citizens
President Obama lays out his
budget reduction plan on Wednesday, to change course for Medicare,
Medicaid, Social Security
 April
11, 2011 – Still reeling from the Republican proposal to severely cut
Medicare and Medicaid and to push Medicare toward a private insurance
program, senior citizens are now bracing for cost reduction proposals
for entitlement programs expected on Wednesday from President Barack
Obama. Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senate Leader Reid to Help Kickoff Nationwide Effort
to Protect Social Security
 National advocacy group plans week of activities,
new radio spots, use of social media
March 28, 2011 – A news
conference and rally featuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be
held in Washington today to kickoff a nationwide mobilization effort by
the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. It is
part of the group's “Hands Off Our Social Security Campaign.”
Read more...
Putting Senior
Citizens Back to Work Popular Way to Help Social Security Medicare
Even senior
citizens like this idea and the idea for increasing eligibility age says
Harris Poll
March 9, 2011 –
Persuading you (senior citizens) to go back to work, or continue to
work, is a popular idea with most Americans for making Medicare and
Social Security more financially viable, according to a new Harris Poll.
But, guess which age group likes this idea the most – older people. The
public and the seniors also likes the idea of raising the age for
joining these programs.
Read
more...
Why Social Security
Isn't a Problem for 26 Years, and the Best Way to Fix It Permanently
Social Security
isn't responsible for federal deficit - just the opposite. Until last
year it took in more than it paid out. It lent
the surpluses to the government
By Robert Reich,
former Secretary of Labor
Feb. 26, 2011
Nearly Half of
Senior Citizens Receiving Smaller Social Security Checks in 2011
New survey finds
lack of COLA hurting seniors as over 60% see their expenses rise,
Medicare premiums reduce checks
 Feb. 3, 2011 -
Forty-four percent of seniors are receiving lower Social Security checks
this year compared to 2010, while even more are dealing with
significantly higher expenses. The findings come from an annual survey
of elderly Americans, released earlier today by The Senior Citizens
League (TSCL), which claims to be one of the nation's largest
nonpartisan senior citizens advocacy groups.
Read
more...
Social Security Finds Later Retirement Age Reduces Benefits, Costs but Increases Poverty
'Distributional Effects of
Accelerating and Extending Increase in the Full Retirement Age,'
a policy brief, finds pluses and minuses in raising the retirement age
by Glenn R. Springstead,
Social
Security Office of Retirement Policy
Jan.
28, 2011 - This policy brief analyzes the distributional effects of increasing
Social Security's full retirement age (FRA),
the age at which Social Security pays full unreduced benefits. Under
current law, the FRA is 66 years for newly
eligible beneficiaries and is scheduled to increase incrementally to
67 years between 2017 and 2022.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Republicans Block
$250 for Senior Citizens to Replace Lack of Social Security Hike in 2011
Also other
action reduces income to Social Security Trust Fund by $120 billion
 Dec. 9, 2010 –
Republicans jumped at the chance to allow the richest people in the
United States to keep a tax cut that will cost the taxpayers about $70
billion a year, then stomped on efforts to give senior citizens $250 in
2011 to compensate for the lack of a cost-of-living increase in Social
Security. Only 26 Republicans joined 228 Democrats in the failed effort
in the House to pass H.R. 5987.
Read more...
Social Security News
Booming Senior Citizen Population Will Bring Social Security to Its
Knees: Deficit Committee
Significant changes in seniors’ security blanket
program detailed by committee in ‘The Moment of Truth’ report
By
Tucker Sutherland, editor, SeniorJournal.com
 Dec. 3, 2010 – Most of the initial reactions to the
proposal on December 1 by President Obama’s special committee seeking
ways to reduce the U.S. deficit focused on changes to Medicare as being
the most dramatic of the adjustments recommended. Medicare, no doubt, is
critical to senior citizens but the program closer to the hearts of
millions of seniors is Social Security – the security blanket. The
committee’s report does urge drastic changes in this program to and says
unless the nation acts the booming number elderly will “bring the Social
Security program to its knees.”
Read more...
Experts Say Plan for Targeted Improvements, 75-Year
Financing Strengthens Social Security
National Academy of Social Insurance suggests
Americans will cheer their plan
 Nov. 12, 2011 –
A non-partisan organization staffed by experts in social insurance - the
National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) - has presented a fix for
Social Security that includes benefit improvements and a long-range
financing plan that it thinks the American people will cheer.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Social Security,
Medicare Cuts in Bulls Eye for Federal Commission Trying to Reduce
Budget
 Bi-partisan
commission charged with identifying policies to improve the fiscal
situation of the federal budget got off to thunderous start
Nov. 11, 2010 -
Senior citizens, that turned out in droves to support the Tea Party
rallies urging cuts in federal spending, came face-to-face with reality
today as the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform released a long list of spending cuts that
could be made. Although a small part of the total savings from these
ideas, projected to be $200 billion a year, it does suggest significant
reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Veterans programs that are
critical to millions of elderly Americans.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
New Campaign Gets
136 in Congress to Warn President About Cutting Social Security
These House
Democrats pledge to oppose any form of Social
Security cuts coming from commission setup by President Obama
 Oct.
20, 2010 – This week 136 members of Congress – all Democrats -
sent a letter to President Obama stating that they will oppose any
recommendations issued by the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform that cut Social Security benefits, further
raise the Social Security retirement age, or privatize the program in
any way. The effort was planned by the newly formed Social Security
Works (SSW), which has organized the Strengthen Social Security
Campaign.
Read more...
Social Security News
Now Official Senior Citizens Will Not Get COLA
Increase for 2011; $250 Check, Maybe
Medicare law has
“hold harmless” provision protecting 70% on Social Security from paying
a higher Part B premium, which could cause many to receive less than
2010
 Oct. 15, 2010 –
The Social Security Administration made the inevitable official this
morning – 58 million Americans will not get an automatic cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) increase in 2011. The Social Security Act provides for
an increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits
if inflation increases from the third quarter of the last year to the
third quarter of the current year.
Read more...
Speaker Pelosi
Backs $250 Payment to Senior Citizens, Veterans if No COLA for 2011
Senior Protection
Act by Rep. Earl Pomeroy still in committee; President Obama has backed
$250 payment for seniors
 Oct. 15, 2010 –
If it is announced today, as expected, that there will be no
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to increase Social Security in 2011 for
senior citizens, Democrats are poised to back a bill by Congressman Earl
Pomeroy and supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to issue seniors and
retired military a one-time $250 payment.
Read more...
Social Security Will Not Have COLA Increase in 2011;
No Surprise but Official This Friday
 Senior
citizens doing better than most since recession; See below - history of
COLAs, Social Security Q&A, related links
Oct. 11, 2010 –
Senior citizens have known since last year that they are not likely to
receive a cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security checks for
2011, due to the lack of inflation, which determines the COLA each October. The Associated Press notes this official word will be
released by Social Security on Friday.
Read more...
Senior Citizens Threatened by Hurricane Earl
Receiving Social Security Checks Early
About 737,000 residents in 10 states and D.C.
should get checks today
Sept. 2, 2010 – Senior citizens living on the upper
Atlantic coast, who normally expect their Social Security check on the
third day of the month, should be receiving their checks today. The
agency is sending the checks a day early to 737,000 beneficiaries living
in states expected to be impacted by Hurricane Earl.
Read
more...
Social Security Trustees Report Long-Range Financing
Outlook Remains Unchanged
Trust Funds exhausted in 2037, same as projected last year;
enter red ink in 2015
Aug.
6, 2010 - The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its
annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds
and they say the long-range outlook remains unchanged. There was a
slight negative change, however, with costs now expected to permanently
exceed tax revenues beginning 2015, one year earlier than estimated in
last year’s report.
Read more
Social Security Opens National Hearing Center in St.
Louis to Reduce Disability Backlog
 Center
will hear disability cases for Cleveland and Minneapolis –two of the most backlogged hearing
offices in the nation
Aug. 2, 2010 - Three new Social Security Administration offices
have opened in St Louis, Missouri, including the agency’s fifth National
Hearing Center (NHC). It becomes the largest hearing center in the
nation. It is co-located with two other new facilities - the National
Case Assistance Center (NCAC) and the Midwest Training Center. These
operations also add 200 new federal jobs in St. Louis.
Read
more...
Social Security Seeks Personal Stories About the Program to Celebrate 75
Years of Service
|
 On
August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act
in the Cabinet Room of the White House. |
Social Security is asking people to tell online how the
program made a difference in their lives and the lives of their family and
friends
July 27, 2010 - Do you have a story about how Social
Security impacted your life? Or, maybe you know a story about Social
Security and someone in your family? The Social Security Administration is
planning to publish these personal stories and reflections about how Social
Security has touched personal lives to celebrate its 75 years of public
service.
Read more...
Social Security Can Be Fixed with Just Modest
Changes: Senate Committee on Aging
Chairman Kohl sends to Congress various options
committee found for consideration
 May 18, 2010 – Making the future of Social Security
financially secure is not as difficult as many have made it seem,
according to Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special
Committee on Aging. The committee released a report today that includes
various options for making Social Security more secure through “modest
changes” to the program.
Read
more...
Many Popular Online Services of Social Security
Close Temporarily for Maintenance
 Detailed list of what’s available online from SSA
listed below – Retirement Planner won’t close
May 6, 2010 – Some of the increasingly popular
online services of the Social Security Administration will not be
available from Friday, May 7, at 11 p.m. Eastern until Saturday, May 8
at 5 a.m., according to a posting on the index pages to these services.
The Retirement Planner will still be available during this regularly
scheduled maintenance.
Read
more...
Retirement News
Declining Social Security Benefits Keeping Older
Men In Workforce, Study Finds
| |
 |
|
| |
David Blau |
|
‘Older individuals don’t get the same level of
Social Security benefits when they retire as they once did’
May 4, 2010 – A new study confirms the strong trend
– since 1992 – of more senior men delaying their retirement. And, the
researcher finds, the reason older men are remaining in the workforce is
the decline in the generosity of the Social Security benefits.
Read
more...
Social Security’s Online Services Take Top Three
Spots in Customer Satisfaction Survey
SSA’s online services also meet or exceed the
private sector’s highest score
 May 4, 2010 – The Social Security Administration’s
online services, heavily used by senior citizens for matters dealing
with Social Security and Medicare, have been recognized as the “best in
government” and exceed top private sector sites in customer
satisfaction, according to a news release today.
Read more..
Senior Citizen Politics
Bi-Partisan
Senators Join to Keep Banks from Freezing Accounts with Social Security
Funds
Democratic Senators Kohl, McCaskill, Baucus joined by
Republican Grassley to push for new Treasury regulations protecting seniors,
veterans
 April
17, 2010 – In a rare expression of bi-partisanship, Republican Senator Chuck
Grassley joined with three Democratic senators this week to applaud new
regulations proposed to prevent banks from freezing accounts containing
money from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income or veterans’
benefits to ensure seniors and veterans have access to vital funds.
Read more...
Social Security News
Social Security's Open Government Plan Includes
Online Life-Expectancy Calculator
 Also to introduce Spanish-language Retirement
Estimator and enhancements to Online service
April 9, 2010 – Social Security has released its
Open Government plan that includes three ground-breaking initiatives -
the Spanish-Language Retirement Estimator, Online Service Enhancement,
and an Online Life-Expectancy Calculator.
Read
more...
Baby Boomers Can Now Apply for Medicare Online at
Social Security Website
Cast of Patty Duke Show helping agency responsible
for Social Security & Medicare enrollment
March
29, 2010 – The millions of baby boomers flooding across the age marker
that signals they are a senior citizens – the age of 65 – will be
pleased with news from Social Security that you can now register for
Medicare benefits online, if you are not ready to also sign up for
Social Security. Patty Duke and the cast of her 1960s sitcom, The Patty
Duke Show, are helping spread the word.
Read
more...
Social Security Commissioner Astrue Honored by
Alzheimer’s Association
Humanitarian award recognizes his adding early-onset
AD, other dementias to to SSA’s Compassionate Allowances Initiative
 March 15, 2010 - Social Security Administration
commissioner Michael Astrue received the Alzheimer's Association's 2010
Humanitarian Award in recognition of his “exceptional leadership” in
creating the Compassionate Allowances Initiative and the decision to
include early-onset Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in that
initiative.
Read more...
Social Security Launches New Open Government
Webpage, Wants Your Ideas
Access
to Agency Strategic Plan, Freedom of Information Act Report, as well as
program laws and regulations for Social Security; will publish its Open Government Plan in
April
Feb. 18, 2010 - Social Security has a new Open
Government webpage available to the public that will serve as the portal
for all agency activities that support President Obama’s Transparency
and Open Government initiative.
Read
more...
Social Security News
Social Security Adds 38 New Medical Conditions that
Qualify for Disability Help
 Adding new conditions, like early-onset Alzheimer’s
disease, will speed benefits to thousands of disabled
Feb. 12, 2010 – The latest move by the Social
Security Administration, in an ongoing effort to speed up the decision
process for consideration of applications for disability benefits to
those not yet age 65, is
the addition of 38 new medical conditions to the list of Compassionate
Allowances, which clearly qualify applicants. The new conditions range
from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease to rare diseases that primarily
affect children.
Read
more...
Social Security Opens Access to Data About
Disability Hearings, Processes at Data.gov
Commissioner Astrue says it is part of ‘President
Obama’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level of openness in
government’
 Jan. 25, 2010 – What has to be seen as a good step
forward in helping Americans find their way more quickly through the
approval process to receive disability assistance from Social Security,
the agency has made available public Online access to data about beneficiaries
and the agency’s disability and hearing processes.
Read
more...
Medicare Drug Program News
Chubby Checker Making Senior Citizens Aware It’s
Easier to Get Help Paying for Medicare Drugs
 The old twister joins Social Security in announcing
new “twist” in law making it easier to qualify for Extra Help with
Medicare prescription drug plan costs
Jan. 11, 2010 - The Social Security Administration
says there is a “new twist” that makes it easier for senior citizens to
qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs, and they
have the old twister – Chubby Checker – helping to spread the word.
Read more, see
video...
Social Security News
Senior Citizens Notified Social Security Check Will
Come Week Earlier in 2010 by Mistake
Your check will come on same payment day in 2010 as
it has in 2009
Dec. 19, 2009 – Millions of senior citizens and
others on Social Security should be receiving a corrected notice from
SSA concerning when your payments will be made in 2010. It corrects an
earlier notice that told many recipients their check would arrive one
week earlier than it will.
Read
more...
Social Security to Investigate California, Hawaii
for Blocking Disability Claims
‘Gov. Schwarzenegger has insisted on furloughing
California Disability Determination Service (DDS) employees, despite the
fact that we fully fund both their salaries and overhead’
Nov. 20, 2009 - Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of
Social Security, today asked the agency’s Inspector General to
investigate allegations that the states of California and Hawaii have
recently implemented practices that deny applicants the right to receive
full consideration of their Social Security disability claims.
Read more...
Social Security Announces New Feature on Popular
Online Benefits Estimator
Will save a half-million seniors a year from going
to office to get benefit information
Nov. 13, 2009 - The highly touted Retirement
Estimator at the Social Security Website has just added a new
enhancement to serve senior citizens that have signed up for Medicare
but have not applied for Social Security. Previously, these “Medicare
only” beneficiaries would need to contact a local office in order to
obtain an estimate of their Social Security benefits.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senior Citizens League Pushes Bill Giving Seniors
$415 Increase in Social Security for 2010
House bill proposes a 3% pay hike for seniors – the
average COLA increase over last 10 years
 Oct. 16, 2009 – Despite strong Congressional
support and the backing of President Obama for a $250 payment to senior
citizens in 2010 to compensate for the lack of an increase in Social
Security, The Senior Citizens League is not giving up on its support for
a House bill that would give the average beneficiary an additional
$415.20 in Social Security payments, a boost of $34.60 per month in
2010. Read
more...
Social Security News
Social Security Makes It Official: No COLA Increase
for Seniors in 2010 Due to No Inflation
SSA calls for passage of $250 payment to each
senior citizen as recommended by President Obama
 Oct. 15, 2009 – Social Security made it official
this morning. Over 57 million Americans will not see an automatic
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) added to their Social Security payments
for 2010. More than 36 million of these are senior citizens. The COLA is
automatically determined each year to cover inflation, but, since the
economic crash back in 2008 inflation has gone flat in the struggling
economy.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
President Wants Congress to Give Each Senior Citizen
$250 to Offset No Social Security COLA
Obama wants additional $250 Economic Recovery Payment
paid to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities
Oct.
15, 2009 - President Obama yesterday announced his support for an
additional $250 Economic Recovery Payment to the seniors, veterans and
people with disabilities who are struggling to make ends meet with
retirement savings that have not fully recovered from their losses over
the first year of the recession.
Read more...
House Passes Bill to Stop 2010 Increase in Medicare
Part B Costs, Helping Seniors Cope
| |
 Congresswoman Dina Titus,
Democrat from
Nevada’s Third District, spoke on the House floor on the
Medicare Premium Fairness Act, which she introduced. |
|
Action stops insurance increase for about 27% of
senior citizens, others protected already; Seniors won’t see COLA for
2010
Sept. 25, 2009 – Senior citizens may have a little
financial relief on the way in 2010 as they prepare to make ends meet
without a cost-of-living increase in their Social Security check. The
House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly approved a bill that
will prevent an increase in the Medicare Part B insurance by making $567
million available to pay the additional cost in 2010.
Read
more, see video...
Bills Hit Congress to Help Senior Citizens Deal with
Lack of Social Security COLA in 2010
Proposal by Democrats Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep.
Peter DeFazio getting most of the attention
| |
 Sen.
Bernie Sanders talks on the Senate floor in support of his
legislation. |
|
Sept. 24, 2009 – Although it has been obvious for
months that senior citizens were not going to get a cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) in their Social Security checks for 2010, due to the
recession and high gasoline prices that hit last year, members of
Congress are now jumping on the bandwagon to do something about it. At
least four new bills in the House and one in the Senate propose
providing some increase in benefits to seniors.
Read
more, Watch video...
House Gets Bill to Stop Medicare Part B Premium
Increase as Seniors Face No COLA in 2010
 An increase in the Medicare premiums would
effectively reduce Social Security income for seniors
Sept. 24, 2009 – A bill sponsored by Rep. Dina
Titus, a Nevada Democrat, aimed at protecting senior citizens and
others with disabilities from increases in their 2010 Medicare Part B
premiums was introduced in the House of Representatives today, after
receiving a nod from the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce
Committees.
Read
more...
Social Security to Test Use of Microsoft’s
HealthVault in Processing Disability Claims
Use of HealthVault expected to result in faster
decisions for disability applicants
 Aug. 28, 2009 – The Social Security Administration
is turning to Microsoft’s HealthVault, a free online service allowing
individuals and families to share medical information with healthcare
providers, to help speed up and improve its process of evaluating
disability claims.
Read
more...
Social Security to Pay More Than $500 Million in
Back Benefits; Stop Unlawful Suspensions
More than 200,000 people eligible for benefits
again through court settlement
Aug. 12, 2009 - The Social Security Administration
has agreed to repay more than $500 million in benefits that were
unlawfully withheld from 80,000 people since January 2007, according to
the National Senior Citizens Law Center.
Read
more...
Social Security Numbers Can Be Predicted from Public
Information, Researchers Find
Carnegie Mellow researchers identified all nine
digits for 8.5% of those born after 1988 in less than 1,000 attempts
 July 10, 2009 – Many senior citizens protect their
Social Security number as if it was a matter of life and death. They may
be wasting their time, according to new research showing that public
information readily gleaned from governmental sources, commercial data
bases, or online social networks can be used to routinely predict most —
and sometimes all — of an individual's nine-digit Social Security
number.
Read more...
Senior Citizens May Not Get Social Security COLA for
Years Says Kaiser Medicare Brief
 No Social Security increase also means higher
Medicare Part B fees for many seniors says the analysis
June 29, 2009 – Senior citizens are not expected to
receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2010 – for the first time
ever. What’s worse, they may not receive an increase for the next three
years. And, it keeps getting worse - no COLA means high Medicare Part B
premiums for about a quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries, according to
an analysis by the the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Read
more...
Sen. Kohl to Offer Senate Aging Committee as
Repository for Social Security Reform Ideas
 Chairman will make this announcement at hearing
Wednesday on Social Security
June
15, 2009 – The Senate Special Committee on Aging will begin gathering
suggestions on reforming Social Security, according to a news release
from the office of Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), which said the committee
chairman will announce his plan at committee hearing on Wednesday.
Read
more...
Seniors, Boomers Back at Work May Find Gold in
Social Security's ‘Claim and Suspend’
| |
 |
|
| |
Index
of labor force participation rates for men aged 55 and older, by
months into recession. |
|
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
issues report on how to increase Social Security in future years
June 10, 2009 - Since the beginning of the economic
collapse, more aging baby boomers and senior citizens have been
reentering the workforce in an attempt to shore up their retirement
savings. This uncertainty about a secure retirement increases the
value of the consistent income provided by Social Security.
One strategy to increase Social Security in future years is called
“Claim and Suspend,” but it may not be familiar to many seniors,
according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Read more...
Senior Citizens Now Receiving $13 Billion in
Stimulus Money from Social Security; All Due in May
Seniors who
do not receive $250 payments by June 4
should contact Social Security; those in care facilities receiving
Medicaid are not included
May 18, 2009 – The $250 stimulus payments for
senior citizens receiving Social Security have been arriving in the mail
boxes or direct deposited to the bank accounts those living in the U.S.
A Social Security spokesperson says all of the $13 billion in economic
recovery money targeted for those receiving Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income will be dispensed by the end of May. A
notable exception to the plan are those living in care facilities and
also receiving Medicaid.
Read more...
Bad News: Social Security Going into Red One Year
Sooner; Good News: Part of Problem is We Live Longer
Social Security Trustees issue annual report on
financial health of trust funds; feeling impact of economic downturn
May
12, 2009 – If there was a surprise in the annual report on the financial
health of the Social Security Trust Funds by the Social Security Board
of Trustees, it was that the economic downturn has only moved the date
that costs will exceed tax revenues forward by one year. This is now
projected to happen in 2016. The good news is that one reason for the
shrinking window is that Americans continue to live longer than
expected.
Read more...
Senior Citizens May Not See COLA Increases for a Few
Years; Lower Expenses Can Help
2009 COLA was a real gain for seniors because there
are inflation factors working in their favor
By Tucker Sutherland, editor & publisher
SeniorJournal.com
April 1, 2009 - Newspapers have been highlighting
information from the Congressional Budget Office that projects seniors
will not see increases from cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for the
next three years, because of the current economic slump. It is probably
true but not necessarily all bad news, since COLA is based on inflation
and the projection is based on prices going down, not up.
Read
more...
Social Security to Begin Sending $13 Billion of
Recovery Funds to Senior Citizens in Early May
VP Biden says the $250 will make a big difference
for older Americans, those with disabilities
| |
Video, Q&A
with story |
|
| |
 See
story for link to video by Social Security explaining the
Economic Recovery checks. See Q&A below news story. |
|
March 27, 2009 – The $13 billion in economic
recovery money targeted for those receiving Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income will be dispersed in $250 checks that will
begin hitting the mail in early May and continue through the month,
according to an announcement yesterday by Vice President Joe Biden and
Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue. Veterans Affairs
and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries will get similar
checks.
Read more...
Social Security Still Says Your $250 Economic
Recovery Check Should be There in May
Plans still formulating on how to quickly issue 55
million checks, mostly to senior citizens
By Tucker Sutherland,
editor, SeniorJournal.com
| |
 Link
to video from Social Security in story. |
|
March 24, 2009 – Your $250 check – and the ones for
about 55 million other Americans receiving Social Security, Supplemental
Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement or Veterans benefits – is not
in the mail but the Social Security Administration still says you should
have it by the end of May. This is money made available by the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Read
more...
Payments Soon to Hit Mail Bringing $250 to 55
Million Social Security, SSI Beneficiaries
 You should expect to receive your payment no later
than the first week of June 2009
March
10, 2009 - Nearly 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of $250 each
as part of the economic stimulus program. Social Security plans to pay
all eligible Social Security and SSI beneficiaries by late May 2009.
Read
more...
|
Columnist Froma Harrop Says GOP Badly Mistaken About Social
Security
Almost like on cue, Republicans are
calling the retirement program a ponzi scheme
Feb.
13, 2009 - Reminded what a ponzi scheme is by the Bernie
Madoff investment scandal, Republicans – the people who
tried to convince senior citizens that private investment
accounts were needed in the program - have been using the
term to attack Social Security. Syndicated columnist Froma
Harrop thinks they are way off base...
“Social Security is about the only
thing around here that doesn't need fixin'. The
Congressional Budget Office says it can pay all scheduled
benefits into 2049. Sure, you want every entitlement to be
funded into the next millennium, but 40 years of solvency
sounds pretty darn good these days.
>>
Read the Column at MySanAntonio.com |
Social Security Ready to Enroll 10,000 Baby Boomers
a Day for 20 Years Online
 Patty Duke Show stars helping agency promote new
online enrollment form
Jan. 7, 2009 – Facing the deluge of 10,000 Baby
Boomers joining Social Security and Medicare every day for the next 20
years, Social Security has decided the monumental enrollment task is
best handled online. The agency, with some promotion help by “Patty
Duke,” has launched the Retire Online campaign.
Read
more...
Social Security to Give Senior Citizens Largest
Cost-of-Living Increase Since 1982 – 5.8%
COLA will begin with benefits that over 50 million
Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2009
Oct. 16, 2008 – It is now official – senior
citizens will get their largest pay increase from Social Security since
1982. The cost-of-living increase (COLA) will be an increase of 5.8
percent starting in January of 2009, the Social Security Administration
announced today. Read
more...
Social Security Only Consistent Income for Seniors
with Retirement Accounts Threatened
Obama, McCain battle over private investment
accounts. Administration's failed economic policies have threaten
seniors' income security, says Committee to Preserve Social Security,
Medicare
 Sept.
23, 2008 – With leaders in Washington focusing on a rapid solution to
the worst financial crisis since the depression, one advocacy group,
worried about retirement accounts and any threats to Social Security,
has issued a reminder to those shaping the rescue that “Social Security
provides the only consistent source of income for American
retirees and their families.”
Read more...
Medicare News
Senate Bill Would End Practice of Placing Social
Security Numbers on Medicare Cards
Durbin, Bingaman, Kohl introduce bill to protect
Medicare card holders from identity theft
 Sept. 17, 2008 – Congress may demand the government
removed Social Security numbers from Medicare identification cards and
communications to beneficiaries as part of the battle against identity
theft. Three Democrats introduced a bill in the Senate today to mandate
these changes, which have been recommended by the Social Security
Administration but ignored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services.
Read more...
|
Social Security News
Social Security COLA for 2009 Still Heading Toward
Six Percent Increase with New Data
Bureau of Labor Statistics says critical consumer
price index jumped 5.9% in August
Sept.
16, 2008 – The consumer price index that is used to determine the
cost-of-living adjustment senior citizens will receive from Social
Security in 2009 was released today and the change for August 2008 over
August 2009 is still looking like the COLA will be an increase in the
range of 6 percent, the largest since 1982. The change for August is 5.9
percent.
Read
more...
Largest Social Security COLA Increase in Over 25
Years May Greet Senior Citizens in 2009
Current trends indicate it will be over 6% and
largest cost-of-living adjustment since 1982; announcement due next
month
Sept. 15, 2008 – Senior citizens may be headed for their largest pay
increase – or cost of living adjustment – in more than 25 years,
following this year’s Social Security COLA of only 2.3 percent.
Projections are now being made that the increase for 2009 will almost
certainly exceed six percent.
Read more...
|
Roll-Out of Direct Express Debit Card for Social
Security Recipients Reaches West Coast
In September, nearly two million federal benefit
recipients in 12 states will receive information about new check
alternative
 Sept.
4, 2008 - The check is in the mail – your Social Security check, that
is. But for nearly two million recipients in a dozen Western states it
may be about their last to be delivered by the postal service. Since
June, the U.S. Treasury has been rolling out the Direct Express Debit
MasterCard card as a new way for senior citizens and other recipients
to receive their benefits.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Effort Grows to
Protect Seniors by Removing Social Security Number from Medicare Card
Social Security frustrated with refusal to change by
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
 June
27, 2008 - Social Security says don’t carry your card on you, someone could
get the number and use it to steal your identity. Medicare tells senior
citizen to always carry their Medicare card, even though it has their Social
Security number prominently displayed. Social Security has been trying to
get Medicare to come up with a new card and identification system and,
finally, they are getting some help in this effort to protect older
Americans from identification theft.
Read more...
Social Security News
Social Security Financial Status Looks Better in
Trustees Annual Report
Trust Funds exhausted in 2041 - the same as last
year’s estimate
March 26, 2008 – The 2008 report by the Social
Security Board of Trustees shows improvement in the projected long-term
financial status of the Social Security program from last year -
particularly in the later years of the long-range projection period.
This improvement is principally the result of methodological changes for
projecting certain aspects of immigration, says a news release from
Social Security.
Read more...
Economic Stimulus Payments Not Counted as Income for
SSI or Part D Help
A person whose sole source of income is SSI is not
eligible to receive a stimulus payment
By ElderLawAnswers.com
 March
24, 2008 - The special economic stimulus payments authorized by Congress
in February will not affect the benefits of persons receiving
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Food Stamps, the Medicare Part D Low
Income Subsidy or other federal benefits.
Read
more...links to more on econimic stimulus
How
Much Will You Get in Economic Stimulus Check – Use IRS Calculator
Are
you eligible to receive a payment and how much can you expect
March 19, 2008 – The IRS has introduced an Online calculator to help you
determine what how much you may receive – if any - as an economic
stimulus payment from the government trying to fight a sinking economy
by flooding the consumer market with cash.
Read
more...
Economic Stimulus Payment Mailer Targets Social
Security, Veteran Benefits Recipients
This mailing especially targets senior citizens and
others that may not have filed a 2006 return
 March
18, 2008 – The Internal Revenue Service is in the process of mailing
special information packages to 20.5 million recipients of Social
Security or Veterans Affairs benefits – primarily senior citizens - to
help them get their 2008 economic stimulus payment. Many of these
probably did not file a return for 2006 but must file for 2007 to
receive the stimulus payment.
Read more...
IRS Releases Schedule for Economic Stimulus
Payments, Fastest is Direct Deposit
Payments to go out weekly starting May 2 based on
Social Security number
March 18, 2008 - The Internal Revenue Service
announced yesterday that it will begin sending more than 130 million
economic stimulus payments on May 2 and that the fastest way to receive
the payment is with electronic filing and direct deposit.
Read
more...
Older Senior Citizens Should Consider Withdrawing
from Social Security and Reapplying for Higher Benefit
|
“Incredibly, a
recipient can ‘undo’ his decision to take Social Security
retirement benefits early simply by paying back - without any
interest or inflation adjustment - the benefits he's received.
He can then re-apply for Social Security and claim the bigger
monthly checks paid to those who wait until an older age to
claim benefits.” Laurence
Kotlikoff, a Boston University professor. Read more below |
A way to buy an inflation-adjusted annuity for a
price that beats anything offered by the financial industry – says
financial expert
By Tucker Sutherland, editor & publisher,
SeniorJournal.com
Feb. 26, 2008 – A seldom noticed provision in
Social Security allows senior citizens, who began taking their
benefits early, to pay the money back and reapply at their current age
and
get a much higher income for life. Many experts who have looked at the
idea think is is great.
We first noticed it in a column by Scott Burns, the
syndicated business writer at the Dallas Morning News. The headline on
the Burns column was “Reapplying for Social Security may be a good
idea.”
Read more...
Proposed 2009 COLA Will Keep Five Million Seniors
Below Poverty Says Senior League
2.8% increase will raise average benefit just $30.20
per month
 Feb. 14, 2008 - Late last month, the Congressional
Budget Office published a little-noticed estimate that forecasts seniors
will receive just a 2.8 percent increase in their Social Security checks
beginning in January, 2009, according to The Senior Citizens League.
Despite the increase, the League says, at least five million people aged
65 and over will remain in poverty, since senior costs are rising
significantly faster than the annual Social Security Cost of Living
Adjustment (COLA).
Read
more...
Private Investment Accounts, Progressive Indexing
Proposals Explained by Budget Writers
In 2013 workers will be allowed to use up
to 4% of their Social Security taxable earnings; indexing
allows poorest to get more
 Feb. 4, 2008 – To the shock of many, President Bush
again called for private investment accounts for the Social Security
program in his 2009 budget. Below is the rationale for the proposal as
explained in the budget. And, also an explanation of “progressive
indexing” proposed as part of a solution to restore Social Security to
sustainable solvency.
Read
more...
Bush Budget Again Includes Private Investment
Accounts in Social Security
Almost $700 billion budget provides $504 million for
new efforts to ensure correct benefits are paid to eligible people
Feb. 4, 2008 – The Social Security budget will grow
by $36.4 billion to $694,804 billion if
the budget submitted today by President George W. Bush is approved. But,
it is not likely to find support in the Congress as presented, since the
President is again making a run at gaining approval for private
investment accounts.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senior
Citizen Entitlement Programs Take $208 Billion Hit in Bush Budget
President lays out $3.1 trillion budget and again
says Congress must solve financial future of Medicare, Medicaid, Social
Security
Feb. 4, 2008 - Entitlement programs – short for
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security – will see spending cuts of $208
billion over the next five years, if the budget proposed today by President
George W. Bush is approved. The cuts in these programs that primarily affect
senior citizens are even larger than earlier estimates. The President,
today, repeatedly laid the problem at the feet of Congress, as he did in the
State of the Union address.
Read more...
Some Seniors May Soon Get Their Social Security
Benefits in Prepaid Debit Card
Treasury to introduce Direct Express cards for
those without bank accounts
Jan. 7, 2008 – Senior citizens who do not have bank
accounts may soon be getting their Social Security payment with a
prepaid debit card. The Department of Treasury says the new Direct
Express cards will provide a safer and more convenient alternative to
paper checks.
Read more...
A Simple Fix for Social Security Problems Proposed
by Think Tank Scholar
Most know benefits increase with inflation but not
that first year pay is determined by wages, which suggests the solution
Nov. 9, 2007 – Everyone thinks Social Security
benefits are increasing by 2.3 percent next year – the recent rate of
inflation – but that is only partially true. It’s true for senior
citizens already in the program but the new class joining Social
Security 2008 will be getting 4.6 percent more than the incoming class
of 2007. That’s based on the percentage increase in the Average Wage
Index. Here lies the “Simple Fix for Social Security,” according to Alan
D. Viard, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Read more...
California Fires Delay Thousands of Social Security
Checks to Senior Citizens
Treasury’s Go Direct campaign says all should
switch to direct deposit
Oct. 25, 2007 – The California fires have already
disrupted delivery of some 8,700 Social Security checks to Southern
California residents and the Department of the Treasury is using this
calamity to urge senior citizens drawing Social Security to switch to
direct deposit.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Advocates Think Social Security
Increase Not Much Help with Medicare Increases
Senior Citizen League says Medicare premiums going
up five times faster that COLA
 Oct. 17, 2007 – Most news reports emphasized the
smallness of the Social Security COLA for 2008 – a monthly increase of
2.4 percent – while most advocacy groups were bemoaning the small
increases in Social Security income matched against the growing costs of
Medicare for senior citizens.
Read
more...
Social Security Announces $24 Monthly Benefit
Increase for Average Senior Citizen in 2008
Rate increase of 2.3% is smallest since 2004, follows
Medicare Part B 3.1% premium increase
Oct. 17, 2007 – The cost of living adjustment for
Social Security – commonly called “COLA” – will go up only 2.3 percent
in 2008, the smallest increase since 1904, which adds just $24 to the
average retired senior citizen’s wallet. It is, however, even less than
that after seniors pay for the increases in Medicare fees and
deductibles for 2008. The COLA announcement was made today by the Social
Security Administration.
Read more...
First Baby Boomer Files for Social Security Benefits
to Start the Silver Tsunami
New Jersey woman was born a second after midnight on
Jan. 1, 1946
 Oct. 15, 2007 – Maybe you didn’t feel the earth
shake, or see the water rising, but for sure what is being called
America’s “Silver Tsunami” has started. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born
one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, today became the first Baby
Boomer to file for Social Security retirement benefits, which she can
begin collecting in January 2008.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Senior Citizens Get About Half of Federal Budget in
2005: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
 Per capita spending highest in Alaska, Virginia,
Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota
Oct. 9, 2007 - Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid, programs primarily serving senior citizens, accounted for more
than $1 trillion of the $2.3 trillion the federal government spent in
2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which publishes the only
consolidated source of data on the geographic distribution of federal
expenditures.
Read more...
Treasury Briefs Seek to Find Common Ground for
Launch of Social Security Reform
Basic problem is that benefits promised senior
citizens are $13.6 trillion above revenue projection
Sept.
25, 2007 – Social Security has a basic problem, says a new report from
the Department of the Treasury - benefits promised to senior citizens
have a present value that is $13.6 trillion greater than the present
value of the revenues that the system is projected to receive. Most
everyone has known that the program is facing financial difficulty but
nothing is being done to fix it. The Treasury has issued the first of a
series of briefs aimed at finding common ground for lawmakers to launch
the needed reform.
Read
more...
Senators Say Banks Illegally Garnishing Funds of
Senior Citizens, Veterans
Top senators ask Social Security to investigate
growing abuse
Aug. 10, 2007 – Two Senate committee chairs and a
member of the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging has asked the
Inspector General of the Social Security Administration to investigate
the increasing violation of laws pertaining to collecting debt from
senior citizens, veterans and the disabled.
Read
more...
Immigration Bill to Pay $966 Billion in Social
Security to Illegal Workers, Senior League Claims
TREA Senior Citizens League to testify today before
House subcommittee on immigration
June 19, 2007 - The immigration bill being debated
by the Senate would allow over two million illegal workers who received
Social Security numbers prior to 2004 to receive more than $966 billion
in Social Security benefits by 2040, according to the TREA Senior
Citizens League.
Read more...
Social Security Disability Reform Bill Waives
Waiting Period for Terminally Ill
Joseph H. Seall Act named for vet who died before
first check came
June 15, 2007 – A bill was introduced in the House
last Thursday to provide a waiver of the five-month waiting period for
Social Security disability benefits for terminally ill individuals. The
legislation is named for Joseph H. Seall of Summit, Mississippi, a
veteran who qualified for Social Security disability benefits, but who,
due to the five-month waiting period, did not receive his first check
until the day after he died.
Read
more...
Before Choosing Social Security's Early Retirement
Consider the Consequences
Expert explores implications for married
couples
May 23, 2007 - According to the Social Security
Administration, of the total aggregate income received by retired
Americans, Social Security benefits provide the lion's share: 42.5
percent. Because of the importance of this income source in retirement,
making educated choices regarding the benefit is critical; yet, many
fail to fully analyze these choices.
Read
more...
Keep Social Security Checks Coming During Hurricanes
with Direct Deposit
Switch to direct deposit may eliminate a stolen check, assure safety of personal information
May 14, 2007 – Keep your Social Security checks
coming by having the government deposit them directly into your bank
account. The Department of the Treasury says this may be especially
helpful for those living along the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard as
hurricane season approaches.
Read
more...
Social Security Trustees Note Slight Improvement in
Program’s Status
The long-term financing challenges are still there
April 24, 2007 - The annual report by the Social
Security Board of Trustees was released yesterday and, much like the
report from the Medicare trustees, it shows a slight improvement in the
financial status of the program from last year.
Read more...
Medicare Advocacy Center Says Check Social Security
1099 Carefully
Problems in 2006 prompt warning from advocacy group
March 21, 2007 - Medicare beneficiaries with Social
Security income have been receiving their Social Security 1099 forms,
which report income received in 2006 and deductions taken from that
income, including Medicare premiums. The Medicare Advocacy Center says
senior citizens should check them carefully, based on bad experiences in
2006.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Strengthening Social Security Rated as Very
Important in Harris Poll
Majority support health care proposals by
Democrats in AP Poll
January
3, 2007 - As the new Congress is sworn in tomorrow, Speaker
of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat
leadership will find that saving Social Security is still very important
to the American public, with almost nine in 10 U.S. adults (88%) saying
they would support reform to ensure that the Social Security fund has
enough money to provide benefits for all Americans for the next fifty
years. The question was much broader than one that would measure support
for specific reforms, like the private investment accounts promoted by
President Bush but spurned by Congress and the voters.
Read
more...
Retirement News
Many Americans Still Plan to Rely on Social Security
for Retirement Income
Gap between retirement targets and source of income
continues
 November
9, 2006 - Despite the common speculation that Social Security and
company provided pensions may not be available for Americans when they
approach retirement, many still plan to rely on them as significant
sources of income when they retire. Nearly one in four Americans
indicate they will look to Social Security (23 percent) for their
primary source of income during their retirement years, according to a
new survey by the Retirement Corporation of America.
Read more...
Social Security News
Social Security Gives Senior Citizens 3.3 Percent
Increase for 2007
October
19, 2006 - Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income
benefits for more than 53 million Americans will increase 3.3 percent in
2007, the Social Security Administration announced yesterday. The
monthly benefit for the average senior citizen couple goes from $1,658
per month to $1,713.
Read
more...
When Should You Take Your Social Security Retirement
Benefits?
It is a personal
decision that depends on a number of factors
By
ElderLawAnswers.com
 October
11, 2006 - As you approach retirement, you must decide when to begin
taking your Social Security benefits. You have three options: You may
begin taking benefits between age 62 and your full retirement age, you
can wait until your full retirement age, or you can delay benefits and
take them anytime up until you reach age 70.
Read more...
Social Security is Strange Political Animal
Surrounded by Myths
Do most of us pay in
more than we get back, or is that a myth?
 October 11, 2006 – While most aging baby boomers
eagerly await their first Social Security check, and most senior
citizens have learned to depend on theirs, the reality is most Americans
know little about this program. We know we pay for it while working and
we collect from it when we reach age 65, usually. But, we may fall
victim to some of the myths about the popular program that are explained
by ElderLawAnswers.com.
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Social Security Private Accounts Not Likely to be
Supported in this Election
AARP survey finds
strong opposition among those 42 and older
October 4, 2006 – One thing voters will not be
hearing about this election are the Social Security private investment
accounts that were so strongly promoted by President Bush and supported
by Republicans in Congress. That boat has sunk. Initially, the idea was
interesting to many younger voters but the most recent polls show 71
percent of Americans age 42 and older - the most likely voters - now
oppose the idea.
Read
more...
Social Security News
The Rules have Changed
to Get New Social Security Card
September 5, 2006 -
A new law, which went into effect last December, requires specific
proofs of the age, identity and citizenship of anyone applying for either a
new or replacement Social Security card. Also, all documents used as proofs
of age, identity or citizenship must be either originals or copies certified
by the issuing agency.
Read more in the Social Security Q&A column.
Social Security's 71st Birthday on Monday Didn't
Seem Very Happy
Only bloggers,
two Democrats and seniors in
St. Paul noticed
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
August 16, 2006 – Except for a few bloggers, some
Democrats and a few senior citizen organizations, the 71st birthday of
Social Security went unnoticed. The actual birthday was Monday –
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed it into law on August 14,
1935. Read
more...
Social Security Trustees Report
Social Security Fuse Gets Shorter by One Year - Goes
Boom in 2040
Funds to be exhausted in 2040, Medicare cost
will pass SS in 2028
May 1, 2006 - The 2006 Social Security Trustees
Report released today shows little change in the projected financial
status of the Social Security program over last year – except that the
fund will run out of money one year earlier than thought last year.
Benefits of $702 billion were paid in 2005 - a $44 billion increase from
2004. The
Trustees Report projects that the Social Security Trust Funds will be
exhausted in 2040. And, Social Security will lose it's top spot as
America's largest social program in 2028, when Medicare will move ahead.
Read
more...
Social Security Investment Accounts, Indexing in
Bush Budget
Reform ideas that never caught on in 2006 are back in
the 2007 budget
Feb. 6, 2006 – There were so many things grabbing
the public's and media's attention in the $2.77 trillion federal budget
for FY 2007 presented yesterday, that many senior citizens may have
missed that the President has put private investment accounts and the
indexing of benefits (determining payments by need) for Social Security
back on the table and in the budget.
Read
more...
Social Security Reform Has Withered but Program Still Needs
Help
Author Nancy Altman says the problem is not
that hard to solve
Feb. 1, 2005 – Social Security Reform, a buzz
phrase for the last few years, seems to have come and gone on the agenda
of President George W. Bush, as indicated by the lack of support in his
State of the Union last night. There is, however, a financial problem for
the program somewhere out there in the future. Nancy J. Altman, an
author and former assistant to Alan Greenspan, says in the following
opinion piece that the program is still vital and financial security is
not that difficult to achieve.
Click to
read her opinion...
Social Security Not in Top 10 Resolutions by White
House Aging Conference
Conference ends for another ten years, will send
these recommendations to President, Congress
Dec. 15, 2005 - The 2005 White House Conference on
Aging (WHCoA) officially closed yesterday, with delegates calling for
renewal of the Older Americans Act within six months and putting a
priority for the President and Congress on a strategy for long-term
care; enhanced public transportation; and, stronger and improved
Medicaid and Medicare programs. Interestingly, there was nothing about
Social Security in their top ten resolutions.
Read more...
Supreme Court Says Feds Can Grab Social Security to
Pay Old Student Loans
Unanimous decision concerned only debts that are over
ten years old
Dec. 8, 2005 – The Supreme Court yesterday said the
Social Security payments to senior citizens are up for grabs by the
government to collect on old student loans.
Read more...
Social Security
Makes Biggest Jump in 15 Years with 4.1 Percent for
2006
Oct. 14, 2005 – Social Security announced today a
4.1 percent increase in the monthly benefit paid to over 52 million
American senior citizens and others who will receive Social Security or
Supplemental Security Income in 2006. It is the largest percentage
increase since 1991, when the boost was 5.4 percent.
Read more...
Efforts Expanding to Get People to Choose Direct
Deposit for Social Security
Treasury and Federal Reserve say “Go Direct” test was
successful
Aug. 1, 2005 – The effort to get more people to
select direct deposit to their bank as the way to get their Social
Security and other government payments will be expanded this fall,
according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and
the Federal Reserve Bank. The program – Go Direct – proved successful in
its test run in four states.
Read more...
2005 Annual Report
Social Security Trustees See Money Disappearing Slightly
Faster Than Expected
March 23, 2005 - The 2005 Social Security Trustees
Report shows little change in the projected financial status of the Social
Security program over last year, other than the funds disappearing a little
faster than expected. The Trustees Report projects that the Social Security
Trust Fund will be exhausted in 2041 - one year sooner than last year’s
projection.
Read
more...
Summary of the 2005 Annual Reports by Social
Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
Statement by Trustees:
March 23, 2005 - Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and
Medicare trust funds report on the current status and projected
condition of the funds over the next 75 years. This message summarizes
the 2005 Annual Reports.
Read
more...
Social Security Can Have Taxable Benefits
Tips for Senior Citizens on Filing Income Tax
March 16, 2005 - Debate rages and battle lines are
being drawn about changing Social Security. Federal Reserve Chair Alan
Greenspan is even urging senior citizens to work longer. Meanwhile,
off to the sidelines, Americans already receiving benefits will struggle
to deal with them by April 15 - or by their extended filing date, if
they need more time to struggle. A news release promoting J.K. Lasser’s
Your Income Tax 2005 points out that seniors citizens need to understand
that Social Security can be taxable.
Read more...
Social Security Benefit Increases 2.7 Percent for
2005
Oct.
19, 2004 - Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits
for more than 52 million Americans will increase 2.7 percent in 2005 - about
$25 per month for the average retired worker, the
Social Security Administration announced today. (Note: see Fact Sheet below
story.)
More...
10/19/04*
The Bottom-Line for Seniors
Those on Social Security, Medicare Gain $12.57
Monthly in 2005
Going into the hospital or healthcare facility will
eat up any gains
Oct. 19, 2004 - If the average senior citizen on
Social Security and Medicare does not spend time in a hospital or
healthcare facility, they should have an extra $12.57 per month to spend
in 2005.
More...
10/10/04*
Social Security Expected to Be Primary Retirement
Income for 94 Percent of Seniors
Oct. 6, 2004 – No one doubts Social Security income
is important to retired senior citizens, but a survey says an
astonishing 94 percent expect it to be their primary source of income
during retirement.
More...
10/06/04*
Drop in Direct Deposit Growth Spurs Treasury
Campaign – Go Direct
Sept. 14, 2004 – Concerned with a sharp decline in
the growth rate of citizens taking advantage of the direct deposit for
government payments, like Social Security, and facing the first wave of
baby boomer retirements, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is
launching a new campaign – Go Direct - to educate Americans on the
advantages of the program.
More... 9/14/04*
Funding Senior Citizen Programs – Social Security &
Medicare – to Crowd Out Funding for Other Government Programs
First
Time in Recent History Benefits to be Paid by General Fund
June 4, 2004 - Social Security and
Medicare benefits are on a course to crowd out funding for every other
government program in the absence of significant tax increases, according to
a new report co-authored by Social Security and Medicare Trustee Thomas R.
Saving. The report, released by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA),
documents the startling speed at which elderly entitlements will balloon.
More... 6/4/04*
Trustees Report 2004
No Change in Solvency of
Social Security - Broke by 2042
March 23, 2004 - The 2004 Social Security Trustees
Report released today shows little change in the projected financial
status of the Social Security program over last year. And again this
year, the Social Security Board of Trustees states that, absent changes,
Social Security’s currently scheduled benefits are not sustainable over
the long term and the Trust Fund will be broke in 2042.
More...
3/23/04*
Long-Term Budget Outlook by Congressional
Budget Office
U.S. Facing Economic Peril
Due to Programs for Seniors
Dec. 22, 2003 – The rapid
growth of the senior citizen population – principal recipients of Social
Security, Medicare and Medicaid – is putting the U.S. in serious financial
peril, according to the Long-Term Budget Outlook just released by the
Congressional Budget Office.
More... 12/22/03*
Average increase $19 per month
Social Security Increases 2.1 Per Month
in 2004
Oct.
17, 2003 - Senior citizens
will get a 2.1 percent increase in their monthly Social Security
checks next year -- an extra $19 a month for an average retiree.
But most older Americans won't get to
pocket all of the increase. Monthly Medicare premiums also are rising,
starting in January by 13.5 percent -- $7.90 a month -- to $66.60.
Click
- Announcement by Social Security with fact sheet 2003 vs 2004
Aug. 14
Big Birthday for All Americans
| |
 |
|
| |
President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signing Social Security Act — Aug.14, 1935 |
|
Social
Security Celebrates 68th Anniversary
On Aug. 14, 2003, Social
Security celebrates its 68th anniversary. For nearly seven decades, it has
been providing income for senior citizens and security against loss of wages
due to retirement, disability or death for millions of workers and their
families. As the most successful government domestic program in our nation's
history, Social Security remains an American cornerstone. To take your own
stroll down Social Security's memory lane, visit the agency’s very well done
and extensive history collection.
Click Here
Social Security
Earnings Limit is Up in 2003
April
2, 2003 - American's receiving Social Security survivor's
benefits, or who receive early retirement benefits from Social Security, can
earn of to $11,520 in 2003, without having to give any of your payments
back. If you go over the cap, you pay back $1 for every $2 you earn. But, if
you reach full retirement age this year (65 plus 2 months), you only pay
back $1 for every $3 you earn before your birthday month. Then you keep it
all.
> Learn more from the Social Security Retirement Planner -
Click
> Retirement age is increasing.
Check this chart.
Retirement age goes up this year
From Now On,
We Don't Get Social Security at 65
Jan. 27, 2003 -
Americans born in 1938 will reach age 65 this year but they will have
to wait an extra two months to receive Social Security payments. This
is the first year of the graduated retirement age for Social Security
but Medicare eligibility is still 65.
Click
1/27/03*
New York &
Connecticut
Social
Security Reverses Course, Agrees to Send Low-Income People Medicare Corrected
Letter about Eligibility
Oct.
31, 02 - Reversing course, the Social Security Administration (SSA) agreed
today in federal district court to send letters to over a million low-income
people with Medicare correcting misrepresentations the agency sent earlier
this year regarding eligibility for federal programs that assist people with
Medicare with paying for health care costs.
Click 10/31/2*
Social Security Announces 1.4
Percent Increase for 2003
Oct. 18, 02 - Monthly
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to more than
50 million Americans will increase 1.4 percent in 2003, Jo Anne B. Barnhart,
Commissioner of Social Security announced today.
Click 10/18/2*
• Fact Sheet: The
numbers 2002 vs 2003 -
Click
Long-Range Deficits Remain In Social Security Trust Fund
March 28, 2002 -
The Social Security Board of Trustees reported to Congress on March 26 that
the Social Security program continues to be substantially underfinanced for
the long term, while extending the projected solvency of the trust funds by
three years. Click
3/28/2*
2002
Social
Security
Cost-of-Living
Adjustment
2.6%
Oct. 19, 2001 - The
2002
cost-of-living
adjustment
for
Social
Security
and
SSI
beneficiaries
will
be
2.6
percent.
This
is
based
on
the
increase
in
the
Consumer
Price
Index
for
Urban
Wage
Earners
and
Clerical
Workers
(CPI-W)
from
the
third
quarter
of
one
year
to
the
third
quarter
of
the
next,
as
announced
today
by
the
Labor
Department.
Click
10/19/01
Social
Security
Turned
66
Aug.
14,
2001
Guest
Opinion:
Sen.
Larry
Craig
-
Click
History
of
Social
Security
-
Click
Social
Security
Home
Page
-
Click
Highlights
of
Social
Security
Today
-
Click
Social
Security
Still
Vital
to
Many
Americans'
Retirement
Plans
28%
say
it
will
be
a
major
income
source
once
they
retire
-
click
to
story
5/22/01
Social
Security
Launches
Website
For
Women
•
Online
Application
for
Spouse's
Benefits
-
click
to
story
5/16/01
IRS
Will
Grab
Your
Social
Security
Check
April 30, 2001 -
In
news
that
is
certain
to
shock
and
dismay
some
seniors,
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
has
announced
its
intention
to
garnish
the
Social
Security
checks
of
debtors
who
are
at
least
six
months
in
arrears.
click
to
story
5/2/01
>
Ticket
to
Work
Program
Announces
State
Participants
for
2001
12/1/00*
The
Social
Security
Administration
will
begin
implementing
the
"Ticket
to
Work"
program
that
was
approved
at
the
end
of
1999.
It
is
aimed
at
putting
disabled
Americans,
particularly
those
on
social
security,
back
to
work.
>
Social
Security
to
Increase
3.5%
10/19/00*
Oct. 19, 2000 - See
the
story
and
also
a
chart
of
the
details
on
how
it
may
effect
you.
>
New
All-in-One
Government
Website
in
Action
10/6/00
Click
the
title
above
or
click
this
link
(http://www.firstgov.gov)
to
go
to
the
new
U.S.
Government
website
that
is
supposed
to
make
it
easier
for
you
to
find
any
government
information.
>
More
Than
You
Want
to
Know
on
Social
Security
and
Medicare
10/02/00
Documents,
photos
and
audio
recordings
document
the
history
of
the
Social
Security
Administration:
Social
Security
and
Medicare
>
Medicare
Extended
for
Disabled
on
Social
Security
10/2/00
As
of
Oct.
1,
2000,
Social
Security
beneficiaries
with
disabilities
who
are
working,
or
thinking
about
working,
may
be
eligible
for
expanded
Medicare
coverage.
The
coverage
increases
from
39
to
93
months
after
the
end
of
the
trial
work
period.
>
Concord
Coalition
Ran
Ad
Sunday
on
Social
Security
Questions
9/30/00*
The
Concord
Coalition
has
placed
a
full-page
advertisement
in
this
Sunday's
New
York
Times
(October
1,
2000)
offering
voters
hard
facts
and
five
questions
to
ask
the
candidates
about
Social
Security
reform.
>
How
Social
Security
Proposals
Effect
Women
9/20/00
About
75
percent
of
unmarried
elderly
women
depend
on
Social
Security
for
at
least
one
half
of
their
income,
and
25
percent
of
unmarried
elderly
women
depend
on
it
for
their
only
source
of
income.
>
Social
Security
eNews
(Newsletter)
for
Sept.
1,
2000
9/1/00
>
Nat.
Council
of
Senior
Citizens'
Statement
on
Social
Security
Anniversary
8/18/00*
>
Social
Security
Kicks
Off
65th
Year
8/4/00*
Social
Security
Administration
(SSA)
will
hold
a
celebration
of
the
65th
anniversary
of
Social
Security
at
Hyde
Park,
New
York
on
Saturday,
August
5,
2000
at
11:00
a.m.
Hyde
Park
is
the
home
of
President
Franklin
Roosevelt,
the
architect
of
the
Social
Security
program.
>
House
Gives
Retirees
Tax
Cut
7/29/00
Winding
up
their
election-year
tax-cutting
campaign,
Republicans
in
the
House
on
Friday
approved
a
bonus
for
senior
citizens
by
repealing
a
1993
tax
increase
on
Social
Security
benefits.
>
Disabled
on
Social
Security
Can
Earn
More
7/26/00
By
raising
earnings
limits
each
year,
the
proposals
would
increase
the
amount
of
money
that
individuals
can
earn
while
remaining
eligible
for
benefits.
The
series
of
changes
will
affect
approximately
400,000
disability
beneficiaries.
>
Senate
Votes
to
Safeguard
Social
Security
and
Medicare
7/3/00
The
Senate
joined
President
Clinton
and
the
House
on
Thursday
in
pledging
to
safeguard
trillions
of
dollars
of
surpluses
in
Medicare
and
Social
Security
from
funds
from
being
spent
on
other
government
programs
or
used
to
make
tax
cuts
possible.
>
GOP
'Soft
Money'
Ad
Features
Bush
on
Social
Security
6/12/00
The
Republican
National
Committee
unveiled
an
ad
touting
George
W.
Bush's
plan
to
revamp
Social
Security,
joining
the
Democrats
in
what
is
likely
to
escalate
into
an
arms
race
of
televised
propaganda
powered
by
soft
money.
> Calculator to Help You Understand Social Security Proposals Coming Monday
5/19/00*
NCPA will unveil a new online Social Security benefits calculator Monday, May 22, to help illustrate what Social Security reform really means to average Americans.
> Social Security Senior Site Adds Active Retirement Planner 5/01/00
> Sen.
McCain, Two Dems Propose Special Commission on Social Security 5/05/00
> President Signs Social Security Bill Allowing Seniors to Keep What They Earn 4/07/00
> NEW Social Security Calculator 4/07/00
> Here's Where to Check on Your Social Security Statement 3/30/00
Social Security Web Site Adds State Links
Access America for Seniors, a site for information and services for seniors on the web, announces new links to the States.
http://www.seniors.gov
> How Social Security Change Effects You 3/24/00
U.S. Senate Joins House to End Earnings Limit for Social Security Recipients (3/23/00)
> Washington Post 3/23/00
> Seattle PI 3/23/00
> New York Times 3/23/00
> Clinton Statement on Senate Vote 3/23/00
> What Social Security Trust Fund? 3/22/00
> AARP on Social Security 3/23/00
> New Report Fuels Social Security Debate 3/11/00
> Social Security Web Site a Hit! 3/07/00
U.S. House Votes 422-0 to Allow Seniors to Keep What They Earn and Social Security, Too. (3/02/00)
> Washington Post Story 3/02/00
> USA Today Story 3/02/00
> Congress Can't Stop Here 3/02/00
|
