Representative C.W. Bill Young.In an effort to stimulate the economy, President Obama has once again called for an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut, which was enacted in December of last year..Subcommittee Discusses Social Security Windfall.Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle agree that the current payment formula the sustainable growth rate is fundamentally flawed. TSCL was disappointed when the Affordable Care Act did not address the issue in 2010, but many believe that the lame-duck session following the November election will provide a prime opportunity for Congress to finally repeal the faulty formula. The replacement options are numerous, however, and many of them are contentious. Just three months away, it still remains unclear which solution lawmakers could agree upon..The Senior Citizens League is relieved that Members of Congress were able to avert the Fiscal Cliff and provide a "doc fix" without enacting harsh benefit cuts. However, topics like "chaining" the Social Security COLA and increasing means testing measures within Medicare will likely resurface next month, when Congress will be required to raise the debt ceiling address the spending cuts once again. In the meantime, TSCL will continue to inform Members of Congress about the consequences of cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..The survey found that a person having the national average Social Security benefit in 2000 - 6 per month - would have ,169.80 per month by 2016 due to COLA increases. However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require a Social Security benefit of ,517.80 per month in 2017 just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power..This estimate is still just that - an estimate. The 2020 COLA is based on CPI data through September 2019 and won't be announced until October. Inflation could start going up again, but with the first five months of data so low, we are likely to see another low COLA in 2020..This week, TSCL's Board of Trustees traveled to Washington, D.C. for their second meeting of 201TSCL's Board of Trustees includes the following members: Larry Hyland, Chairman; Tom O'Connell, Vice-Chairman; Charlie Flowers, Secretary; Edward Cates, Treasurer ; Michael Gales, PAC Treasurer; and Richard Delaney, President of TREThe Enlisted Association..So far activists, including TSCL's members and supporters, have managed to keep Capitol Hill lawmakers wary of making major changes. But the issue isn't going away any time soon. The nation will once again reach the federal debt limit by the end of next year, and at the same time, lawmakers will be confronted with the looming insolvency of the Social Security Disability program. Deficit reduction battles are likely to dominate the Congressional agenda once again, and cutting COLAs remains the target of major deficit reduction plans.
