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Essma Extra!.Here are the seven policy priorities for the disability program that we shared, based on overwhelming support in our recent polls and surveys of our members and supporters. Many of them appeared in the budget deal that was reached in October..Congress Passes "Doc Fix".With people living longer, retiring too early means potentially leaving tens of thousands in retirement income behind. Who can afford to do that? If you haven't started benefits yet, beware of the anchor effect, and remember that age 70 is the age to get your maximum retirement benefit. Individual circumstances vary though. It's a good idea to get professional help if you can, to take your time to learn about your benefits, and to decide the best age for you to start benefits. This is an important decision. It pays to take your time. To learn more about the "anchor effect," read "What Was I Thinking?".According to ModernHealthcare.com, "Congressional Democrats are hoping to pass a slew of healthcare priorities later this year aimed at expanding access to coverage and making it more affordable for patients..As always, TSCL will be working with members of Congress to ensure that the legislation we have been fighting for on behalf of TSCL supporters is introduced and then passed into law..How will the program make people eligible for Social Security and Medicare? Don't they have to become citizens?.TSCL agrees with Congressman Garamendi, and we hope to see his CPI-E Act signed into law before the end of the 115th Congress. For more information on H.R. 1251, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. To read The Senior Citizens League's Loss of Buying Power study, click HERE..Following the hearing, The Senior Citizens League submitted a proposal for strengthening and improving the DI program. We recommended the following seven policy changes based on the results of several surveys of TSCL's supporters:

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Changes in home housekeeping and maintenance. Is there a change in housekeeping and how well your friend maintains her home and yard? Is there clutter piled everyone, and garbage needing to be removed? Does the lawn look weedy and overgrown?.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:.According to Politico, "At least 10 caucus moderates are signaling opposition to Democrats' drug pricing negotiation bill - more than enough to potentially force House Speaker Nancy Pelosi into dropping the reforms from [President Biden's] infrastructure legislation Democrats hope to pass along party lines. Pelosi can only spare two Democratic defections on partisan legislation because of the party's slim House majority." … Continued

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President Barak Obama included a proposal in his fiscal year 2014 budget that would have reduced Social Security benefits by using the more slowly-growing chained consumer price index to calculate the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. An estimate produced for TSCL projects that "chaining the COLA" would cut Social Security benefits by about 9% over a 30-year retirement. Although the proposal has been under discussion for several years, it has not passed, primarily due to fierce resistance from older voters..One TSCL member Barbara B., 75 of Indiana recently told us: "It's been 36 months since I've had any raise in my net operating Social Security, but my actual household costs continue to go up. This isn't fair to retirees." Barbara, who is now 75, retired 9 years ago. Like many seniors around the country, she feels that her Social Security benefits are not keeping up with inflation..During the debt limit negotiations, one of the most frequently discussed components of deficit reduction plans included a switch to the "chained" CPI. Such a proposal wouldn't just impact Social Security benefits; it would also reduce Railroad Retirement benefits, military retirement, and federal pension payouts as well as Supplemental Security Income payments received by very low-income seniors. In addition, seniors would also pay more in taxes since the CPI is also used to adjust tax brackets, the standard deduction, and personal exemptions. … Continued