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Inadequate COLAs have long-term consequences for both retiree finances and health. COLAs affect the amount of total lifetime Social Security income, and that in turn affects the rate of withdrawals from retirement accounts and savings, debt levels. Adequate income in retirement also determines whether individuals have the finances to pay for supplemental Medicare health premiums, out-of-pocket costs and prescription drugs..If Trump does, in fact, veto the bill it is likely Congress will attempt to override it this week although the timing of the override attempt may hinge on whether an agreement of government funding can be reached this week..During that period COLAs have averaged just 1.4%. In 2010, 2011, and 2016 there was no COLA payable at all and, in 2017, the COLA was just 0.03 percent. "But COLAs have never remained so low, for such an extended period of time, in the history of Social Security," says Johnson, who has studied the COLA for more than 25 years. Over the 20 - year period covering 1990 to 2009, COLAs routinely averaged 3 percent annually, and were even higher before that period.."Public health officials were quick to tout J&J's data as a strong result, particularly given that regulators initially said a vaccine would only have to be 50% effective to be authorized. A vaccine that is 66% effective is an incredibly powerful tool in fighting respiratory viruses, they stressed. 'We would be celebrating a seasonal influenza vaccine with 60% efficacy,' Jay Butler, the deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, told reporters..Eliminating the payroll tax is estimated to put more money into the pockets of working people. But at today's savings rates, that could leave even more Americans much worse prepared for retirement than they already are. "By far the biggest winners of this proposal would be the share - holders of the nation's largest employers," Johnson says. "Companies would pocket the 6.2 percent payroll tax they currently spend matching the 6.2 percent withheld from employees, making this one of the biggest corporate tax breaks in our nation's history." "This proposal is an insidious attack on the finances of all Social Security beneficiaries," Johnson says..of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and one of the foremost experts in the world on infectious diseases, said "the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic.".Members of the committee heard from several witnesses at Wednesday's hearing, including Stephen and Rita Shiman, two older Americans from Saco, Maine who were recently victims of the common grandparent scam against seniors. The couple was contacted via phone by a scammer who claimed to be their grandson. The caller told Mr. and Mrs. Shiman he was being held unfairly in a county jail and needed ,230 to be released on bail. They completed the transaction without a second thought and learned they had been scammed later that day, when they called to check in on their actual grandson..After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?.Medicare doesn't cover dental benefits, and dental insurance premiums can be more expensive than paying out of your own pocket for routine check ups- and cleanings. The cost to buy an individual policy averages about 0 a year. That's about what you might pay out-of-pocket without any insurance for two annual exams and cleanings, plus some X-rays.