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<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>Please review and share with others.</DIV>
<DIV>Received from Pamela Gaston, NJ CBVI.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference<BR>Joe Ruffalo,
President
<BR>National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey <BR>973 743
0075<BR>nfbnj1@verizon.net<BR><A
href="http://www.nfbnj.org">www.nfbnj.org</A></DIV>
<DIV>Raising Expectations To Live The Life you Want!</DIV>
<DIV>Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.<BR>Donate your
unwanted vehicle to us by clicking <BR>www.carshelpingtheblind.org <BR>or
call
855 659 9314<BR></DIV>
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<DIV>From: Pamela.Gaston@dhs.state.nj.us
[mailto:Pamela.Gaston@dhs.state.nj.us]
</DIV>
<DIV>Sent: Friday, October 12, 2018 12:59 PM</DIV>
<DIV>To: CBVI.Public-Email@dhs.state.nj.us</DIV>
<DIV>Subject: Social Security announces 2.8% COLA for 2019 </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>The following information is being forwarded by the NJ Commission for
the
Blind and Visually Impaired as a courtesy, in accordance with our continued
efforts to share information that may be of interest or of benefit to
individuals who are blind and vision-impaired.</DIV>
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<DIV>Social Security Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2019</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for
more
than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2019, the Social
Security
Administration announced today.</DIV>
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<DIV>The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with
benefits
payable to more than 62 million Social Security beneficiaries in January
2019. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will
begin on December 31, 2018. (Note: some people receive both Social
Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual
COLA
to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department
of
Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.</DIV>
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<DIV>Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are
based
on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum
amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will
increase to $132,900 from $128,400. </DIV>
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<DIV>Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail in
early December about their new benefit amount. This year, for the
first
time, most people who receive Social Security payments will be able to view
their COLA notice online through their my Social Security account.
People
may create or access their my Social Security account online at <<A
href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialsecurity.gov%2Fmyaccount&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=UoVpGuJBXqZq8BHTVMNrPoC9HxK0OwPN3ODSTTbYw0s%3D&reserved=0">https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialsecurity.gov%2Fmyaccount&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=UoVpGuJBXqZq8BHTVMNrPoC9HxK0OwPN3ODSTTbYw0s%3D&reserved=0</A>>
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Information about Medicare changes for 2019, when announced, will be
available at <<A
href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicare.gov&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=hlraEKe38Wph2X%2F3OAcCNT4cgwr4EUc5fvg4vtkENcQ%3D&reserved=0">https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicare.gov&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=hlraEKe38Wph2X%2F3OAcCNT4cgwr4EUc5fvg4vtkENcQ%3D&reserved=0</A>>
www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries receiving
Medicare,
Social Security will not be able to compute their new benefit amount until
after
the Medicare premium amounts for 2019 are announced. Final 2019
benefit
amounts will be communicated to beneficiaries in December through the mailed
COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated.
To
read more, please visit <<A
href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialsecurity.gov%2Fcola&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=TSj9LKo85og6%2FVIM2O6OuJp9VHcR0%2FDJ%2FbZ8nWxLLo4%3D&reserved=0">https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialsecurity.gov%2Fcola&data=02%7C01%7Ccharles.horton%40phila.gov%7C3fc4259d4f8c4c0cc2bf08d62f7e8706%7C2046864f68ea497daf34a6629a6cd700%7C0%7C0%7C636748617814980327&sdata=TSj9LKo85og6%2FVIM2O6OuJp9VHcR0%2FDJ%2FbZ8nWxLLo4%3D&reserved=0</A>>
www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.</DIV>
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