Lawmakers continued working on an omnibus spending bill this week to fund the federal government past December 11th. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw support grow for one key bill that would give Social Security beneficiaries a cost-of-living adjustment next year.."The Social Security Notch: An Economic Analysis," John Haldi, The Senior Citizens League, October 2002..The previous changes have not only resulted in cutting the growth of COLAs received by Social Security recipients, but those of military retirees and COLA recipients in all other federal benefit programs as well. They came after a 1996 government commission headed by economist Michael Boskin said the CPI overstated the rate of inflation, and thus "overpaid" COLA recipients. Proponents of slowing COLA growth today make the same argument..That means the trust fund reserves money that came out of your paychecks to finance your earned benefits would become unusable by the Social Security and Medicare programs. Here's how that could lead to benefit cuts….Social Security benefits are one of the few types of retirement income to be automatically adjusted annually for inflation. In 2020, more than 61 million Social Security recipients received a 1.6 percent annual COLA, which raised the average ,460 benefit by .40 per month..Access to the plans is highly variable. While some areas of the country have dozens of Medicare Advantage plans, rural counties often have very limited choices, or as little as just one insurer. Frequently, older and sicker enrollees discover that Medicare Advantage plan out-of-pocket spending due to chronic health conditions, or a hospitalization can be much higher than with a Medigap plan. Medigap supplements cover most, or even all, out of pocket costs..In a letter of support, Art Cooper Chairman of The Senior Citizens League's Board of Trustees wrote: "As you know, millions of older Americans are afflicted with age-related hearing loss, low vision, and poor oral health … When left untreated, their conditions often cause much more serious injuries and health complications. But when successfully treated, the result is improved overall health and potentially lower costs for Medicare and patients.".Homeowners and renter's insurance: With severe weather-related disasters, homeowner's insurance is one of the top ten fastest rising senior costs. If you haven't done so recently, review your coverage and determine whether it's based on the current value of your home and realistic current replacement costs. Many policies have new deductibles for wind and hurricane damage based on a percentage of your home's value, so take care and look before being tempted to increase deductibles to lower premium costs. Do shop around with other highly rated insurers to see if you can lower your premiums..Premiums for Medicare Part B, as well as premiums for either a Medigap and Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan.
