[nfbwatlk] FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011
KAYE KIPP
kkipp123 at msn.com
Fri May 29 16:34:11 UTC 2009
Oh dear. That's really scary. Yikes.
Kaye
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 8:30 AM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011
> Information of interest to Social Security recipients
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ESD GP GCDE-INFO [mailto:GCDE-INFO at ESD.WA.GOV]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:14 PM
> To: GCDE-INFO at LISTSERV.WA.GOV
> Subject: FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Olson, Toby
> Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:07 PM
> To: ESD GP GCDE-INFO
> Subject: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011
>
> The New York Times
>
> Published: May 4, 2009
>
> WASHINGTON - For the first time in more than three decades, Social
> Security recipients will not get an increase in their benefits next year,
> federal forecasts show.
>
> The absence of a cost-of-living adjustment, calculated under a formula set
> by law, will be a shock to older Americans already hit by plummeting home
> values, investment losses and rising health costs.
>
> "Most seniors have never been through a year in which there was no Social
> Security COLA," said David Certner, legislative counsel at AARP.
>
> In theory, low inflation is good for people on fixed incomes. But it is
> creating political and policy problems for Congress, which is just
> learning of the implications for Social Security and Medicare.
>
> The forecasts, by the Obama administration and the Congressional Budget
> Office, indicate that Social Security beneficiaries will not receive any
> cost-of-living increase in 2010 or in 2011.
>
> Social Security and Medicare trustees will describe the outlook for
> benefits and premiums in their annual reports this month.
>
> Officials have already said the condition of Medicare's hospital insurance
> trust fund is deteriorating because of the recession, which has reduced
> payroll tax revenue, the main source of money for the fund. Spending on
> Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year.
>
> Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, predicted
> that inflation would remain low for several years, so Social Security
> might not pay a cost-of-living increase until January 2013. President
> Barack Obama's budget assumes no increase in 2010 or 2011, then a 1.4
> percent COLA in 2012.
>
> Certner, from AARP, described the outlook for consumers: "If, as expected,
> there is no COLA in Social Security next year but premiums for drug
> coverage increase, as expected, millions of beneficiaries will see their
> Social Security checks reduced for the first time."
>
> COLA AND MEDICARE
>
> The cost-of-living adjustment is intended to preserve the purchasing power
> of those reliant on Social Security by increasing benefits to keep pace
> with consumer prices. A freeze in Social Security benefits would have
> major implications for Medicare, because premiums for Part B of Medicare,
> which covers doctors' services, are in many cases capped at cost-of-living
> increases.
>
> *Under federal law, most Medicare beneficiaries have some protection.
> Their basic Part B premiums cannot rise more than the dollar amount of the
> cost-of-living increase in their Social Security checks. So if there is no
> COLA, their basic Part B premiums will not increase.
>
> *But one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries are not protected by the law,
> and their premiums could increase.
>
> *In addition, millions of beneficiaries could see higher premiums for drug
> coverage, provided under Part D of Medicare.
>
> *Most Medicare beneficiaries pay a monthly Part B premium of $96.40. The
> Congressional Budget Office estimates the basic premium will rise to $119
> next year and $123 in 2011 for those who are not protected under federal
> law.
>
> The New York Times
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