After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?.–A majority of older voters think Social Security should be strengthened, but are opposed to cutting benefits, says a national survey by The Senior Citizens League. The new national survey found that older voters favor some changes that provide the program with more revenue, and provide retirees with modestly higher benefits in the future. According to TSCL's 2016 Senior Survey, 71 percent of older voters think Social Security should be expanded to provide modestly higher retirement benefits and more fair cost of living adjustments. An analysis for TSCL estimates that if COLAs were indexed using a "senior" consumer price index - the government's Consumer Price Index for the Elderly - Social Security recipients would receive a 1.3 percent increase instead of an estimated 0.2 percent COLA in 2017..When you claim benefits before reaching full retirement age, benefits are reduced by as much as 30%. But only one - in - three people even know their full retirement age - the age at which you can claim full, unreduced benefits. It's not surprising that most people claim benefits at 62, even though benefits are reduced. Eligibility to begin benefits at age 62 is the one piece of information about Social Security that most people know..TSCL will continue to monitor the state of the trust funds especially for the DI program and our legislative team will advocate tirelessly for fair and responsible policy solutions in the months ahead. For updates, visit our new page on Facebook..So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first..About 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will develop a.That is only one of the issues involved with high drug prices, and the drug companies aren't the only issue..President Obama set off a firestorm of controversy announcing an ambitious set of "executive actions" to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently released a report confirming that many of those affected by the policy changes would be eligible for Social Security, Medicare and a wide array of federal benefits. Here are answers to frequently asked questions about executive action on immigration and how it affects Social Security and Medicare:.This week, one new cosponsor Rep. David Valadao signed on to Rep. John Duncan's CPI for Seniors Act. The cosponsor total is now at six. If signed into law, H.R. 2154 would create a new consumer price index specifically for senior citizens for the purpose of establishing a more accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Currently, COLAs are based upon the way young, urban workers spend their money, using the CPI-W. However, seniors spend a disproportionate share of their income on healthcare, and the CPI-W fails to capture that. Each year, it underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience. TSCL enthusiastically supports the CPI for Seniors Act, and we were pleased to see one new cosponsor sign on this week.