Interest rates fell. Seven percent of Social Security financing comes from the interest earned by the assets held by the Social Security Trust Funds. Those assets are actually non-marketable government bonds, like I.O.U.s from the U.S. Treasury payable to the Social Security Trust Fund. That income stream was reduced because short term interest rates dropped to extreme lows during 2020 and so far in 2021..The U.S. has given billions of dollars to drug companies to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus that has infected more than 5.1 million people across the country. It has even gambled on locking in a minimum of 800 million doses as soon as the immunizations are cleared later this year or early next year..an average of ,600 a month..Senate Passes Permanent SGR Repeal.During the wide-ranging question and answer session TSCL asked the Senator if legislation to lower prescription drug prices and end surprise medical billing would be passed this year. The Senator's answer was disappointing but also not surprising..The chances are high that the next president of the United States will sign into law legislation that reforms the Social Security program and extends the solvency of the trust fund beyond 2034, its projected year of exhaustion. For years leaders in Washington have been authoring sweeping plans that would enact major benefit cuts like reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased eligibility ages in order to strengthen the financing of the program. But the unpopularity of those plans with voters ensured those plans never went anywhere..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:.Senator Bernie Sanders introduced S. 99 on January 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..While restricting a potential Part B spike in any given year is good news for beneficiaries, the problem itself isn't going away any time soon. "Unless Congress acts to boost Social Security benefits and finds a better way to adjust benefits for growing Medicare costs, this problem will continue occur with greater frequently in the future," says Johnson. "This approach of imposing future premium repayments doesn't fix the problem - it's like a payday loan. It just makes the premiums grow faster later, and the problem is triggered again the next time when COLAs are extremely low," Johnson says. The Senior Citizens League is working to get legislation introduced that would provide an emergency COLA of 3 percent in 202To learn more, visit.

Sleeplessness Puts Women At Risk For Diabetes

To learn more about deducting medical expenses, see IRS publication 502, which can be downloaded at..Many of TSCL's supporters are older and less affluent. And some of them are "Notch Victims," individuals who receive lower Social Security benefits because they were born between the years of 1917 and 1926..An estimated 39 million Medicare beneficiaries spend up to 29 percent of their Social Security benefits on healthcare costs, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. "That's a huge chunk of one's household budget, and chances are that many of those people are paying too much for premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket costs," says Mary Johnson a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "One of the best financial moves that Medicare beneficiaries can make is to review health and drug plan coverage and compare options during Medicare's Fall Open Enrollment Period, which starts October 15 and runs through December 7, 2021," Johnson says. "For many people, it could potentially save hundreds of dollars, making the difference between having to split pills or going without, versus to covering all prescriptions and still winding up with a little cash left over," says Johnson, who helps her friends and family with the task. … Continued

Larry Levitt

The United States consistently lags behind countries like China, South Korea, and others in education, placing us 26th in math, and 21st in science, out of 34 countries. As we work to improve our education system to compete internationally, I believe recruiting teachers is critical to the success of our children and our nation. Unfortunately, we are doing just the opposite. We have two decades-old policies in place that unintentionally discourage people from becoming public servants and punish those who are..A majority of the 54 million senior and disabled Americans who receive Social Security depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income..This week, following a two-day markup, the House Budget Committee advanced a fiscal 2019 budget resolution that would dramatically impact Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if adopted. The "Budget for a Brighter American Future" includes trillion in spending cuts, and it would balance the budget in nine years. … Continued

Contact Atavista Farm Today!