News From the Office of Senator Claire McCaskill.The answer depends upon whether you start your benefits before or after your full retirement age - which in 2017 is 6When you start Social Security benefits before your full retirement age, you will be subject to the Social Security earnings test. The earnings test can cause Social Security to withhold your benefits if you earn more than the annual exempted amount. In addition, your initial retirement benefit will be permanently reduced, because you started Social Security prior to your full retirement age. It pays to wait until 6Here's why:.Complicating matters, even though the Social Security retirement and survivors trust fund still holds IOUs that at least provide the promise to pay benefits, the Social Security disability program is in much more critical condition. The Social Security Trustees recently warned that the SSDI program may run out of IOU "assets" and become fully insolvent as early as 201TSCL believes that estimate is overly optimistic because the Trustees may be assuming there are more payroll taxes than the program is actually taking in. The Trustees assume that unemployment will be only 6.5% over the next few years - but today it's actually far higher - 9.6%. Advisor editor and Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson estimates that the insolvency date for the Social Security Disability Insurance program could arrive as early as 2013..The government will announce the 2017 COLA on October 18, 2016 and it remains to be seen whether Congress will take action to protect older Americans and state Medicaid budgets from unexpectedly high Medicare Part B premium costs. In response to similar circumstances last fall, Congress passed legislation that modified the Part B premium spike to the amount it would have increased if the hold harmless provision had not gone into effect..As long as all other qualifications are met, and they have evidence of their earnings, like W2s, they may file a claim for Social Security benefits. Others who receive an SSN after 2004 must have work authorization to claim benefits. Yet even people who worked illegally for many years sometimes later change status. That can occur even without an amnesty, especially if the illegals have children who were born in this country. Because the children are born as U.S. citizens, when they become adults they can sponsor their parents to stay in the U.S. legally and to receive work authorization. If their parents kept W2s and evidence earnings, those work credits will be re-instated to their new SSNs. Once they receive work authorization, noncitizens can later file a claim for Social Security benefits..Romney's bill would not tackle changes to the programs directly but would require Congress to set up "rescue" committees. The committees would be tasked with evaluating proposals and writing legislation to extend the solvency of the Trust Funds - which include the Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability trust funds and Medicare hospital insurance. At least two members of each party would be required to work on the legislation, and any qualifying bills that are written, would get expedited consideration in both the House and the Senate..ROTH IRAs require that you take distributions by age 70 and a half or pay a.TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 1902 and H.R. 2016, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information on the status of the bills, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website..Legislation to lower prescription drug prices is a top priority of TSCL's this year and we continue to monitor things very closely and work to pass legislation that will lower drug prices in a substantial way.
