Your wife can sign up, when she's first eligible, during the 7-month period that begins 3 months before the month she turns 65 and ends 3 months after the month she turns 65..In real terms, if a household heating oil tank holds 400 gallons, a fill up in 2000 cost 0. That was slightly more than half the average monthly Social Security benefit of 6 in 2000. The householder still had 6 left to buy groceries and pay for prescriptions. In 2013, the same fill-up cost ,600 - almost 40 percent more than the average monthly benefit of ,14The householder had to take 3 from savings, a line of credit, or another income source to cover the balance of the fill-up..Earlier this month, House lawmakers voted on a balanced budget amendment to the constitution that would have been disastrous for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries if adopted. Did you support this drastic measure, and if so, why?.Proponents of Executive Action say it's unlikely that illegals would file a lot of claims for Social Security benefits. People need to work about ten years and meet age eligibility requirements to file a claim for retirement benefits, and most illegal immigrants are young. But the rules for disability benefits are different. Depending on age, young disabled workers could qualify for benefits with as little as 1.5 years of work history. And, under current policies, illegal immigrants who receive a work-authorized Social Security number can become entitled to benefits that could be calculated on earnings from prior work under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers..The Super Committee failed to come to agreement last week, resulting in a mandated sequestration of cuts in defense and domestic spending. The sequester was intended to urge lawmakers on the committee to come to an agreement, however the stalemate will result in automatic 1.2 trillion dollar budget cuts over the next decade..Your own retirement benefit would be low if you were to take it at age 64 - prior to reaching your full retirement age. Full retirement age at which you start receiving full, unreduced benefits, is rising. For people born in 1956 your full retirement age is 66 and 4 months..Before a company's drug patent expires, manufacturers of generics race to file lawsuits to challenge the patent. The company that wins gets a six-month period of exclusive sales to sell the drug. While this doesn't always happen, when it does it can delay real market competition until several manufacturers start making the generic version..There were reports recently that Republicans in the House of Representatives are insisting that stemming the growth of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid costs is necessary. Bloomberg news reported on a House Budget Committee hearing about a new Congressional Budget Office report that projects trillion-dollar deficits for the next decade..This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for four key bills in the House and Senate.
