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Pay Raises Not Always
Welcomed
March 30, 2008, Washington -- Most people would like the ability
to set their own salaries. The U.S. Constitution requires Congress
to do just that.But it never has been a chore it relishes, and it
has struggled with a variety of systems to accomplish it.
From 1789, when congressional salaries were $6 a day, until 1968
when they were $30,000 a year, Congress enacted stand-alone legislation
for 18 separate salary adjustments. Partisan battles accompanied
many of those votes, and sometimes a decade would pass between increases.
(click
for full article)
Social Security's
Running Out of Time
March 19, 2008, (Fortune Magazine) -- One of Washington's rites of
spring is almost upon us. It's the wonks' version of the Cherry Blossom
Festival - the release of the annual Social Security trustees' report
showing the health of our nation's biggest social program. Each year
the report touches off a debate, mostly misguided, about Social Security's
financial status. Given the political environment this year, you can
expect more heat than usual when the report comes out. But you're
unlikely to see much light. (click
for full article)
Democrats Get Wish:
More Taxes!
March 14, 2008, WASHINGTON - The Senate rejected calls from both
parties' presidential candidates to take an election-year break
from pork-barrel spending as a Democratic-run Congress passed budget
plans that would torpedo hundreds of billions of dollars in tax
cuts won by President Bush. (click
for full article)
Rebate Letters
to Cost $42 Million
March 7, 2008, WASHINGTON At a cost of nearly $42 million,
the IRS wants you to know: Your check is almost in the mail.
The Internal Revenue Service is spending the money on letters to
alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic
stimulus plan. (click
for full article)
Cost of Living
Too Costly for Seniors
February 27, 2008, SACRAMENTO The threshold for seniors to
qualify for government assistance is so low that most Ventura County
seniors who have incomes twice that high don't have enough money
to pay for the necessities of living, a UCLA study released Tuesday
shows. (click
for full article)
2.8 % Increase
Would Raise Average Benefit Just $30.20 Per Month During Economic
Downturn
February 14,2008, WASHINGTON /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Late last
month, the Congressional Budget Office published a little-noticed
estimate that forecasts seniors will receive just a 2.8 percent
increase in their Social Security checks beginning in January, 2009.
(click
for full article)
Consider Delaying
Social Security Benefits
June 7, 2007 -- Over seven out of every 10 Americans opt to receive
their Social Security checks as soon as possible. This is usually
a mistake. By delaying when you start receiving your benefits, you
may receive more money and ensure you have a better retirement in
the long run. (click
for full article)
Town Wants to Let
Seniors Work Off Taxes
GREENBURGH, New York (AP) -- Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a
$620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply
rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her
family there and after 43 years, she really doesn't want to leave
Greenburgh. (click
for full article)
2008 COLA Lowest
in 4 Years!
WASHINGTON (AP) Come January, Social Security benefits for
nearly 50 million Americans are going up 2.3 percent, the smallest
increase in four years. It will mean an extra $24 per month in the
average check, the government announced Wednesday. (click
for full article)
48 Million Seniors
Forecast to Receive Second Smallest Social Security COLA '08
WASHINGTON, April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In its annual report
released to Congress earlier this week, Social Security's Trustees
announced that the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
for 2008 -- the annual adjustment provided to seniors each year
to help them keep up with inflation -- is forecast to be just 1.4
percent, and could be as low as 1.2 percent. (click
for full article)
Many Seniors Will
Receive Smaller Social Security Checks Next Year
October 18, 2006 (Washington DC) - Earlier today, the Social Security
Administration announced that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
for 2007 would be 3.3 percent. That increase means that the average
senior with a benefit of $1,011 will see a bump of $33 per month
beginning in January. (click for
full article)
Social Security
Cost-of-living Adjustment Expected to Be Lower
WASHINGTON (AP) The nation's nearly 49 million Social Security
recipients are in line to get a smaller average increase in their
monthly benefit checks in 2007 than they did this year, though less
of the gain will be eaten up by rising Medicare premiums. (click
for full article)
Social Security
Adjustment Isnt Calculating the Cost-of-living
Seniors Medicare premiums are rising so rapidly that in five
years, the premiums alone will wipe out the annual cost-of-living
adjustments in their Social Security checks, according to a new
study.
The yearly cost-of-living adjustment is supposed to keep pace with
inflations effect on the costs of energy, food and transportation.
But the monthly premiums for Medicare Part B alone have gone up
much faster than the cost-of-living adjustments, and the situation
is expected to worsen. In addition to Medicare Part B doctors coverage,
many seniors face higher-than-expected premiums for the new Part
D drug coverage. (click
for full article)
Cost-of-living
Adjustments (COLAs)
Social Security recipients would be outraged if they knew how the
annual cost of living adjustment is calculated. Did you know it
has a direct effect on the amount of Social Security you will receive?
(click
for full article)
Higher Medicare
Premium May Cut Social Security Benefits Next Year
Higher Medicare premiums are likely to cut Social Security benefits
for many seniors in 2007. The lower benefits may come as a surprise,
warns TREA Senior Citizens League, a national non-partisan seniors
organization. (click
for full article)
Statement by AARP
CEO Bill Novelli on the 2006 Social Security COLA
On October 14, 2005 the Social Security Administration announced
a 4.1 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), the largest since
1990. Usually a record increase would be welcome news for America's
48 million Social Security beneficiaries. But this COLA is being
eaten up by rising gasoline and heating costs, another double-digit
increase in the monthly Medicare Part B premium and escalating healthcare
bills. AARP believes that more should be done to prevent the future
erosion of Social Security COLAs by controlling sharply rising healthcare
costs. (click to read
full article)
Social Security's
3.3% Raise Won't Keep Up With Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON Americans collecting Social Security will see
their payments rise 3.3% in January, a significant gain but maybe
not enough to keep up with seniors' increasing costs. (click
for full article)
Social Security
Gets Cost of Living Boost
WASHINGTON - The cost of living adjustment intended to help more
than 47 million Social Security recipients keep up with inflation
is expected to be a tad larger in 2005 than it was this year, but
the bad news is that much of the increase will be eaten up by higher
Medicare premiums. (click
for full article)
Social Security
COLA Increase Doesn't Add Up for Millions of Seniors
Today, the Social Security Administration announced a 3.3% increase
in the annual Cost of Living Adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries
in 2007. The COLA increase will take effect January 1.
The 3.3% increase adds about $33.00 to the average Social Security
check of $1,011.00. However, the rising premiums for Medicare Part
B coverage and the Part D drug benefit, along with Medicare means
testing which begins in January, will offset the COLA increase for
millions of seniors. (click
for full article)
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